5 Stick-and-Puck Drills You Can Do Alone cover image

5 Stick-and-Puck Drills You Can Do Alone

February 14, 2026

skills

Stick-and-puck sessions are some of the most valuable ice time you'll get — but only if you actually use them well. I've seen too many players show up, shoot around aimlessly for an hour, and leave wondering why they're not improving. Here are five drills that'll change that.

Table of Contents

  1. Maximizing Solo Practice Time
  2. Drill 1: Figure-8 Stickhandling
  3. Drill 2: Stop-and-Go Acceleration
  4. Drill 3: Shooting Stations
  5. Drill 4: Edge Work Patterns
  6. Drill 5: Full-Ice Flow Drill
  7. Structuring Your Session

Maximizing Solo Practice Time

The Value of Solo Practice

Stick-and-puck time is gold. There's no pressure to keep up with anyone, you can work on YOUR weaknesses, and you get unlimited puck touches. It's where muscle memory gets built, and you get immediate feedback on what's working and what isn't. Plus, it's usually the most affordable ice time available.

Before You Start

Have a plan. This is the single most important thing I can tell you. Don't just step on the ice and figure it out. Pick 3-5 drills before you go, set a rough time for each one, and track your progress over weeks.

Bring the right stuff: 3-5 pucks (you don't want to chase one puck around the rink the entire time), a water bottle, a towel, your phone for timing, and optionally some cones or markers.

Get your mindset right. Quality over quantity — every single time. Focus on technique, push yourself without rushing, and make every rep count. Mindless reps are just cardio with extra steps.

Drill 1: Figure-8 Stickhandling

This is one of my favorite drills because it develops puck control, edges, and coordination all at the same time.

Setup

All you need is two faceoff circles (or any two marks on the ice), one puck, and optionally some cones if you want to mark things more clearly.

The Drill

The basic pattern: Skate a continuous figure-8 around two circles while controlling the puck. Use crossovers in the turns, keep your head up, and maintain smooth, controlled speed.

Here's the step-by-step: 1. Start between the two circles 2. Skate around the right circle clockwise 3. Use crossovers through the turn 4. Cross the center and approach the left circle 5. Skate around the left circle counter-clockwise 6. Crossovers through that turn 7. Return to center 8. Repeat — continuous figure-8s

For puck position: Keep the puck on the outside of each circle — protect it from an imaginary defender. Switch your hand positioning through the crossovers, and maintain control at all times.

Progressions

Level 1: Slow and controlled. Focus on smooth edges and perfect puck control. Keep your head up. Do this for 5 continuous minutes.

Level 2: Increase speed. Same pattern, faster. Challenge your edge control, but don't sacrifice puck control for speed. 5 minutes.

Level 3: Add moves. Throw in a toe drag entering each turn, a quick deke at center, or a between-the-legs move. 5 minutes.

Level 4: Obstacles. Add cones to stickhandle around within the pattern. Tighter patterns, more challenge. 5-10 minutes.

What This Develops

Common Mistakes

Looking down at the puck. Force your head up. Feel the puck — don't watch it. Glance occasionally, but don't stare. This is a habit you need to break early.

Going too fast too soon. Master the drill slowly before adding speed. Control is more important than pace, and speed comes naturally with comfort.

Losing the puck in crossovers. Slow down through the turns, keep the puck on the outside, and if needed, practice your crossovers without a puck first until they feel natural.

Drill 2: Stop-and-Go Acceleration

This drill builds explosive starts, controlled stops, and game-speed transitions — three things that directly translate to playing better in actual games.

Setup

Use the blue lines as your markers. No puck needed to start — you can add one later as a progression.

The Drill

The basic pattern: 1. Start at the goal line 2. Explosive acceleration to the first blue line 3. Hard stop 4. Accelerate to the far blue line 5. Hard stop 6. Accelerate to the far goal line 7. Stop 8. Return doing the same thing

What to focus on: Explosive first 3 strides on every start. Build speed quickly. Make your stops controlled and solid — on both sides. And work on that transition from stop to start, making it as quick and clean as possible.

Variations

Variation 1: Alternate stopping sides. Stop left at the blue line, stop right at the next one. This forces you to practice your weak side — which, let's be honest, we all need.

Variation 2: Add turns. Stop, turn 180 degrees, accelerate back. Builds pivots and transitions that are much more game-like.

Variation 3: With puck. Same pattern, now carrying a puck. Maintain control through your stops and work on quick puck recovery after each one.

Variation 4: Backward-forward transitions. Skate backward to the line, pivot forward, and accelerate. Builds the defensive skating you'll need in games.

Sets and Reps

Beginner: 5 reps down and back, rest 30-60 seconds between each, 3 sets total.

Intermediate: 8 reps down and back, rest 30 seconds, 4 sets.

Advanced: 10 reps with minimal rest, 5 sets.

This one will gas you. That's the point.

What This Develops

Drill 3: Shooting Stations

Time to put pucks on net — with purpose.

Setup

Create 5 shooting spots: 1. High slot (top of the circles) 2. Left wing (faceoff dot) 3. Right wing (faceoff dot) 4. Left side (below the goal line) 5. Right side (below the goal line)

Grab 5+ pucks and, if you've got them, a water bottle or small targets to place in the net.

The Drill

Round 1: Stationary shots (10 minutes)

At each spot, take 5 shots. Set up, aim for a specific target, focus on your mechanics, then retrieve your pucks and move to the next spot.

Shot types by position: - High slot: Wrist shots, snap shots - Wing positions: One-timers (pass to yourself off the boards) - Below goal line: Sharp angle shots, wraparounds

Round 2: Shooting off the pass (10 minutes)

Pass the puck off the boards to yourself, receive it, and shoot immediately. Work on a quick release from various angles. This simulates real game situations way better than standing still.

Round 3: Shooting in motion (10 minutes)

Skate from the corner with the puck, cut to the slot, and shoot while moving. Work both sides. This is where you start combining everything.

Focus Points

Accuracy matters more than power. Pick small targets and try to hit them consistently. Don't just fire pucks at the net and hope for the best.

Work on your release. Quick and smooth. Minimize your wind-up. Snap through the shot.

Follow through properly. Point your blade at the target, get full extension, and focus on proper mechanics every single rep.

Progressions

Beginner: Stationary shots only. Focus on form. Accuracy over power. About 30 shots total.

Intermediate: Add movement and quick release focus. Mix your shot types. 50+ shots.

Advanced: Full speed shots, dekes before shooting, high-difficulty angles. 75+ shots.

Common Mistakes

Too many shots too fast. Slow down. Each shot should have purpose. Rest between stations.

Not varying your spots. Don't just shoot from your favorite position all day. Practice every angle — game situations are unpredictable.

Ignoring rebounds. Practice following up on your own misses. Second-chance opportunities are incredibly common in real games. Get in the habit of banging home those rebounds.

Drill 4: Edge Work Patterns

Edge work is the foundation of everything in skating. This drill builds agility, balance, and control through pattern skating.

Setup

Use what's already painted on the ice — faceoff circles, blue lines, center ice circle, even the goal crease. No equipment needed.

Pattern Drills

Drill A: Circle work (5 minutes)

Inside edges: Glide around a faceoff circle using only your inside edges. Lean into the circle. Both feet pressing on inside edges. Do it in both directions.

Outside edges: Same thing, but on your outside edges. Lean away from the circle. This is harder — your balance will be challenged. Both directions.

One-foot circles: Complete an entire circle on one foot only. Inside edge, then outside edge. Both feet. This is an excellent balance drill and it's harder than it sounds.

Drill B: S-curves (5 minutes)

Skate down the ice in an S-pattern, shifting your weight between edges. Focus on smooth transitions and controlled speed. Make your S-curves progressively tighter as you get comfortable.

Drill C: Tight turns (5 minutes)

Set up cones or use existing marks on the ice. Do quick, tight turns around the markers with maximum edge pressure, then explode out of each turn. Both directions.

Drill D: Mohawk turns (5 minutes)

Skate forward, step into backward skating (the mohawk), skate backward, then step forward again. Keep it continuous. These forward-to-backward transitions are essential for game situations.

Sets and Timing

Spend 3-5 minutes on each drill with 1 minute of rest between patterns. Total time is about 20-25 minutes of focused edge work — that's solid fundamental development.

What This Develops

Drill 5: Full-Ice Flow Drill

This is where you combine everything into game-like continuous movement. Think of it as a solo scrimmage simulation.

The Pattern

  1. Pick up a puck in the corner
  2. Skate to the blue line with the puck
  3. Stop at the blue line
  4. Quick acceleration with the puck
  5. Cut across ice (practice crossovers)
  6. Shoot from the high slot
  7. Retrieve the puck
  8. Pass to yourself off the boards
  9. Receive and skate to the opposite corner
  10. Repeat the pattern going the other direction

Variations

Change up what you're working on each lap:

Lap 1: Forward skating, wrist shot, forehand stickhandling.

Lap 2: Include a backward section, snap shot, one-hand stickhandling.

Lap 3: Tight turns, off-wing shot, backhand work.

Lap 4: Maximum speed, quick release, dekes before the shot.

Timing

Go for 2-3 continuous minutes per direction, rest for 1-2 minutes, then repeat for 3-4 sets. Total time: about 15-20 minutes.

Benefits

This drill simulates real game conditions — multiple skills combined, continuous movement, conditioning under fatigue. It develops stamina, skill execution when you're tired (which is when it matters most), flow and rhythm, and overall confidence.

Make It Harder

Time yourself and try to beat your laps. Keep score on your shots. Add obstacle course elements. Require specific moves at certain points. Vary your speed — sprint the straightaways, control the turns.

Structuring Your Session

60-Minute Solo Session

Here's how I'd structure a standard stick-and-puck hour:

0-10 minutes: Warm-up. Easy skating, basic stickhandling, light stretching on ice. Don't skip this — cold muscles and a cold brain lead to sloppy reps.

10-25 minutes: Drills 1 and 2. Figure-8 stickhandling for 8 minutes, then stop-and-go acceleration for 7 minutes.

25-45 minutes: Drills 3 and 4. Shooting stations for 10 minutes, edge work patterns for 10 minutes.

45-60 minutes: Drill 5 and cool down. Full-ice flow drill for 12 minutes, then easy skating to cool down for the last 3 minutes.

90-Minute Solo Session

If you've got the extra time, spend longer on each drill, add more shooting reps, take more rest between sets, dedicate time to specific weaknesses, and throw in extra edge work. More time is always a luxury — use it wisely.

Progressive Plan

Weeks 1-2: Focus on Drills 1, 2, and 3. Master the basics. Build your stamina.

Weeks 3-4: Add Drills 4 and 5. Increase the intensity. Push for longer sessions.

Week 5 and beyond: All five drills at higher intensity. Add variations. Start tracking your improvement.

Measuring Progress

Track These Metrics

Drill 1 (Figure-8): Can you do 5 continuous minutes without losing the puck? Is your head-up percentage increasing? Are you going faster?

Drill 2 (Stop-and-Go): More reps in the same time? Less fatigue between sets? Stops more controlled on both sides?

Drill 3 (Shooting): Accuracy improving? Shooting percentage going up? Is your release getting quicker?

Drill 4 (Edges): Tighter turns? More controlled on every edge? Less falling?

Drill 5 (Flow): Faster lap times? Smoother execution? Better stamina through the sets?

Monthly Assessment

Record a baseline — video yourself if you can. Repeat the same assessment monthly. Note your improvements and adjust your training based on what still needs work. You'll be surprised how much changes in just 30 days of focused practice.

Final Thoughts

Solo practice is what separates players who improve from players who plateau. I've seen it again and again. One hour of focused solo work can equal multiple games in terms of pure skill development.

The keys to making it work: have a plan before you step on the ice, work every rep with purpose, focus on your weaknesses (not just the stuff you're already good at), track your progress, and — above all — stay consistent.

Don't just show up and shoot around. Use these five drills as your foundation, customize them as you progress, and watch the improvement show up in your games.

The best players practice alone. Now you've got the tools to do it effectively.

Related Guides: - Hockey Skill Development Guide - Comprehensive skill building - Breaking Down the Hockey Stop - Master stopping - 10-Minute Pre-Game Warm-up - On-ice preparation