Off The Wall - Neutral Zone Exchange from NewEdge Hockey that helps defenseman practice passing, regrouping, communication, and more.

Setup

• Split up the defenseman on each half wall.
• On the whistle, to start, D1 skates out and passes to the coach at center ice.
• Both D1 and D2 skate up to the blueline and transition to skate backward.
• The coach gives a pass back to D1.
• D1 and D2 work to pass once in front of each net.
  • Part 1 of the drill - Bank Pass: To continue the drill, D1 banks the puck behind the boards to D2, who passes it back to the next player in line (D3) to continue to the drill.
  • Part 2 of the drill - Reverse Pass: To continue the drill, D1 makes a reverse pass to D2, who passes the puck up to the next player in line to continue the drill.
  • Variations: Coaches can have players do different regroups / transitions before passing back to the start of the line.

Coaching Points

• Passing: Put a strong emphasis on passing quality and communication during this drill.
• Gap: Keeping a consistent east/west gap is critical.
• Reverse Tip: When running the reverse, the defenseman who ends up in front of the net before retrieving the reverse pass needs to survey/scan the front and pressure on the puck carring defenseman before calling the reverse.