Being from Minnesota (commonly known as the state of hockey), hockey is a part of life growing up and has been for all 27 years of Colin’s life. He has played at all ages from organized to pick up games in the neighborhood on in both ice and street hockey. After graduating High School, Colin moved to Alaska and worked for a junior hockey team as the head equipment manager. From there he went on to be the assistant equipment manager at Saint Clout State University in Minnesota for four years. Hockey continues to be a part of his life as he now works in the front office of a professional hockey team in Southern California. Colin Kraft Team USA Hockey Manager daaa.colin.kraft@gmail.com Basic Drills: Stick handling To start, find a hard smooth surface (garage, basement, gym, driveway, etc.) and just stick handle back and forth with a ball or puck. Really try and maintain control at all times with the puck by corralling it with the blade of the stick. After a while and comfortable, then try to pick up speed and really lift your head up every once in a while. Next, set up a couple cones/objects to stick handle around. Separate them evenly in front of you and corral the puck in and out of them in a figure 8 motion. Then set the cones up in a line in front of you and move forward stick handling and weaving in and out of the cones (see below)
Passing Find a partner and just pass back and forth with them. Really work on following through after the pass to ensure accuracy to your partner/teammates stick blade. If you do not have someone to pass with, find a concrete wall and practice with that by passing to a certain spot (mocking as a teammates stick blade) on the wall for accuracy. If you want to get creative try what is commonly known as a saucer pass. Raise the puck off the surface in a rotating motion to keep away from opponents stick and landing shortly before your teammates stick.
Shooting Find a hockey net or a wall to practice shooting on. When shooting make sure you are snapping your wrists and following through with the weight of your body to ensure a harder and more accurate shot. As seen below, work on accuracy by aiming for the posts or corners of the net. Accuracy will help with scoring when playing in game.
Work with a partner on pass and shooting. Try and focus on controlling the puck from the passer and then releasing quickly on net. This will better help you when playing against defenders in game.
