Training aids, and how to practise with them.

What the rules say

No rulebook we read governs practice aids. The one rule that touches them is the puck itself:

• IIHF Official Rule Book 2026/27, Rule 13.1: vulcanized rubber or another approved material, 2.5 cm thick and 7.6 cm across, weighing 156 to 170 g. The NHL's 2026-27 rule gives the same puck in inches and ounces.
• Hockey Canada 2026-28 Playing Rules, Rule 3.8: the same size, but for U9 and below a lighter puck, as little as 113.4 g (4 ounces), is allowed if it is clearly identified.

So a young player practising at home can use the lighter puck their games allow, and an older player can practise with a regulation one.

What the manuals and research say about practising

• Skating first. Hockey Canada's 2020-21 Skating guide says to teach the skating first, then add the puck, then add other players, and recommends agility skating in every practice. An aid used at home works on the puck, not the skating that comes first in that order.
• Off-ice surfaces are not ice. Buckeridge and colleagues (PLoS One, 2015) cite a 2010 study finding synthetic ice produced more knee extension than real ice, and a 2003 study finding treadmill skating differed from on-ice skating in stride rate, stride length and load.
• Accuracy over power. Hockey Canada's Coach 1 manual (2022) ranks accuracy as the most important shooting quality and puts quick release on a par with puck speed. Its 2020-21 Shooting and Scoring guide says every practice should include shooting.
• Quiet hands. Coach 1 says good puck control should be smooth, rhythmic and quiet, with the puck in the middle of the blade and the arms relaxed, head up where possible.
• Video. The Skating guide recommends video as a correction tool for coaches.

Our picks by category

How to choose and use them

Start with what a coach wants you to work on

Hockey Canada's Shooting and Scoring guide suggests that beginners spend about 75% of development time on technical skills, 20% on individual tactics and 5% on team tactics. A coach who has watched you can say which skill to target, and whether a particular aid suits it.

Off-ice training by age

• USA Hockey's dryland programme recommends age-appropriate off-ice work for agility, balance, coordination, strength and skill, about 30 minutes before or after practice at least twice a week in season.
• 12U: Guy Gosselin, a USA Hockey ADM regional manager, put nutrition, sleep and daily activity first in 2017, then range of motion, bodyweight exercises and core work, other sports, unstructured play and fun.
• 14U and 16U: Bob Mancini, another ADM regional manager, said in 2020 that players should learn weight-training technique from a qualified coach or trainer and avoid overtraining and burnout.
• Hockey Canada: its 2013 Long Term Player Development Plan says strength training for Atom players should use only the player's own body weight.

Much of that needs little equipment. The Canadian Hockey Association's 2002 checking manual includes plyometric exercises such as hops over a stick, stressing soft landings with ankles, knees and hips aligned. For teaching sharp turns on the ice, Coach 1 suggests low markers such as a glove or a faceoff dot rather than tall cones, which it says stop players leaning.

Warm-ups

The University of Calgary's SHRED injuries group, with Universite Laval and Hockey Alberta, developed a hockey warm-up of about 7 minutes off ice and 6 on ice. It says research is still evaluating whether it reduces injuries, and reports no results yet.

The stick you practise with

Laliberte's 2009 review of slap shot research recommends the most flexible stick a player can use without frequent breakage, especially for younger or weaker players. See the stick guide.

For more on how federations structure practice by age, see player development, and follow your association's programme.