skip navigation

The Minnesota Wild Practice Plan

By Jessi Pierce, Touchpoint Media, 10/07/14, 11:00AM CDT

Share

Find out why the Minnesota Wild play small area games.

Over the last two NHL seasons, we’ve become accustomed to watching Zach Parise protect the puck from behind the net and wrap it around for a scoring chance. We may be watching Charlie Coyle use his body-position and skating to win a puck battle along the boards before setting up a teammate in front for years to come. Ryan Suter can’t start a smooth breakout from the Wild zone if he doesn’t wrestle the puck away from the opposition down low.

While hockey is played on an 85’ x 200’ sheet of ice in the NHL, most of the action happens in small areas.

Minnesota Wild assistant coach and Richfield Youth Hockey product Darby Hendrickson filled us on in how small-area games benefit a big-time team like the Wild, and why they are important to focus on for youth players, too.

Minnesota Hockey: Why is practicing in small areas so important?

Darby Hendrickson: I think that at every level there’s so much emphasis on skating on the big ice, and it’s obviously a very important part of the game, but the smaller-area games are a whole other part that are equally as important. You have to be creative in small space. You have to move and be strong on the puck. From a personal experience growing up we didn’t work on the small ice as much and it was an area that I had to grow in. It’s an area I see a lot of guys having to work in. You have to protect the puck, get a spot down low and work through traffic, sometimes with guys the size of (6-foot-9) Zdeno Chara. Elite players in the game are really good at that. At any level, if you can work those small spaces you’re going to be successful.

MH: What skills are players picking up and learning in small-area drills?

DH: You learn to be able to move and be effective in tight spaces. You learn how to be strong on the puck and not get stationary or locked up.

MH: Parise and Coyle are especially good at working in traffic and tight spaces. What makes them stand apart?

DH: They both are very shifty. When they move, they find that little seam and they can get the give-and-go. Just like in basketball, hockey has all of those little moves down low with a lot of emphasis on just moving in that tight space and getting open and both those guys do that. Zach is great at making tight turns and finding spots around the net. Charlie has a real good ability to move the puck down low. It’s a constant battle in those small areas but they pay off in the end when the puck hits the back of the net.

MH: How often are the Wild using small-area games in practice? What are they?

DH: We do small-area drills quite a bit. There are so many different variations of things you can do. We usually start 1-on-1 with the net tilted so guys have to work out of the corner. We might play 2-on-2 or 3-on-3 below the circles so you’re working behind the net in the offensive zone. We have one where a coach is behind the net and the players skate in from the sides and, again, work to get open in front of the net around the crease. There are a million different ways to work on it. I know I see players on other teams who just play keep-away in a box before a game. You don’t have to do an hour of small-area games every day, but just stay on it.

MH: Do the players seem to enjoy it?

DH: I think they get a lot out of it. I think the guys know how important it is to have as a part of their game. They know they need to keep working at it and keep improving their presence in small spaces to be effective. There’s not a lot of space sometimes so it’s the ability to be shifty, agile and not get tied up. These guys constantly work at it to improve and it pays off for a lot of them in games.

MH: What’s your biggest piece of advice to youth players in small-area games?

DH: Keep working at it. Even if practice or a game doesn’t permit a lot of time for small-area games, there’s still 1-on-1 opportunities with your buddies at home or after a pregame skate. Play keep-away behind the net before practice starts or grab a basketball and work in the down-low spots to improve the body positioning. Just like anything in this game, the more you work at it, the better you will get. It’s a challenge, but I think it’s a huge part of adding to the big part of the game. If you can combine the big and small game, you’re going to be a great player at every level.

Most Popular