skip navigation

Which is more important in Hockey, Speed or Quickness? Part 2

By Andy Blaylock, 04/18/14, 8:15AM CDT

Share

 

In Part 1 we looked at how the size of the playing surface in Hockey makes speed and quickness almost equally important to success in the game.  Now we will look at some of the implications of that idea. 

Hockey experts often point out that other sports' playing surfaces grow along with the players as they get older and larger, whereas hockey tends to use the same size playing surface at all levels.  One implication of this difference is that when smaller players with a lower top seed play on the same size rink as grown men, most players will be near their top speed a far greater percentage of the time.  As a result, players with a higher top speed will have a large advantage.  This is evident at the younger ages where players who can handle the puck and have the speed to pull away can score many goals per game. 

So, if a sport emphasizes both speed and quickness, how should this impact how we prepare?  We should keep in mind that much of the work that helps with quickness in hockey also helps with top end speed and vice versa.  For example, good knee bend, balance, edge control, and posture are advantages at all speeds.  Likewise, strength and explosiveness in a players’ muscles help with both quick starts and top speed performance.

However, at some point, training does specify to lower speed techniques and higher speed techniques and we have to prepare every technique we need in the game.  To do this, mixing alternative training surfaces (areas other than an NHL size sheet) can have a great effect.

  • We can break a full sheet up and apply different rules to create small area games that emphasize quickness, stickhandling in tight areas, and puck protection.
  • More and more 3v3-sized rinks are popping up.  These do not have room for a full-grown player to get up near top speed very often as these rinks are basically purpose-built for small area games and offer the same advantages.  Going 4 on 4 or 5 on 5 in these smaller rinks emphasize quickness (both physical and mental) even more.
  • Skating treadmills allow specific work on the techniques necessary for both quickness and speed.  Higher angle training facilitates quickness technique development.  Lower angle training allows for a wider stride with more glide, which is efficient for high speed skating.  Crossover Skating Treadmills (i.e. The Crossover Flywheel) can be set up for high-speed crossovers or smaller area quickness lateral acceleration.
  • Boot hockey or street hockey de-emphasizes your ability to move at speed at all and this makes puck handling and puck protection a priority.

Considering all of that, top speed training cannot be overlooked. It is important to remember that an NHL sized (or even Bandy) sized rink places a premium on speed, which underscores the value of using larger surfaces for training as well. In addition to the fact that the hockey-playing surface doesn't scale as players grow, hockey also demands something no other team sport does - a large percentage of time spent developing the ability to skate. Consequently, in order to work on techniques at speed or techniques that foster speed, players need a lot of space. Because of the interplay between speed and space, there are clear advantages of giving smaller players the space that an NHL rink affords as part of their developmental experience.

In many ways Hockey is a generalist’s game.  This means in order to be good you have to have a very well rounded skill set.  The size of the NHL rink only serves to extend this truth as it almost equally emphasizes speed and quickness.  And to train for Hockey it is important to seek out diversity in order to prepare for anything the game can throw at you.

About the Author

One of Minnesota's premier hockey trainers, Andy Blaylock joins the YHH Staff to write about the dynamics of training, both on ice and off.  Andy is the General Manager of Competitive Edge Hockey in St. Louis Park. His content will emphasize the importance of high quality in-season and off-season training. In addition to running his own private clinics and camps, Andy has trained several organizations including Andover, Anoka, Edina, Hutchinson, STMA and Wayzata.

Andy can be reached via email at Andy@compedgehky.com

Recent MN YHH News