Continuous Forechecking Hockey Drill

By: Denis Savard

In this video Denis Savard describes a drill that requires at least 3 lines and 4 defense.  It is a great hockey forechecking drill that involves lots of players, in fact your whole team should be engaged throughout the drill.

The drill starts with a defensive pair at the top of the cricles in each zone.  Three lines start in the neutral zone, one on each blue line and one at center ie along the red line.  The coach starts by dumping the puck into one end.  The line at center ice then forechecks against the line on that side that is trying to breakout.  The forecheckers try to create a scoring chance off of the forecheck while the other line tries to breakout.  If they can breakout and gain the red line then they dump the puck and forecheck against the next line.  The line that had just forechecked now waits at the red line for the next line to breakout and they will force them to dump the puck and then breakout against their forecheck.  As Denis describes in the video, you can add a fourth line. In this case after a line forechecks they would go to the bench and the line from the bench would then become the next unit to breakout. This is a continuous drill and there should be very few stoppages. The defense should also be rotated in depending on how many defensemen you have to work with.

A few key things you can have your team work on include:

• strategic dumps (into the corner and away from the goalie)
• breaking out against specific forechecking systems
• forechecking systems

For additional resources checkout more forechecking systems and forechecking drills.