Transition Angling Drill

This drill builds off of the neutral zone overspeed transition drill. For the most part it is exactly the same except this variation adds a defensive element. One line will now be the offensive line and they will perform the drill exactly like the overspeed transition drill but the other line on the opposite blue line will now become a defender.

The defender has several objectives. First they need to take an angle while attacking P2 that forces them to make a pass to the wall. This is relevevant to forechecking the defense in neutral zone situations. Have the player move their feet while keeping their stick in the passing lane to force P2 to make the pass up the strong side to P1. The next objective is to angle P1 to the wall and not allow them to cut back to the middle of the ice. This is a great opportunity to teach the fundamentals of checking. Have the players focus on moving their feet until they can get their shoulder to the front side of P1 and then check their hands along the wall.

The last area of emphasis for both P1 and D1 is the competition to the net. P1 needs to move their feet and drive hard to the post. Allow the players to compete all the way to the net. After the first repetition the other line will now have P1 and P2 start the drill while D1 comes from the opposite line. Of course if you only have one goalie then you can have P1 & P2 both come from the same side.