If you want to improve stickhandling, shooting, and passing, you will benefit a lot from practicing at home. In order to practice at home you will need a little bit of equipment first. In this article I break down what I feel is the essential training equipment for hockey players to improve their skills at home.



Stickhandling Gear



Shooting Gear



In order to work on your stickhandling, shooting, and passing you need a smooth surface. This surface will serve as your “ice” at home, and will allow you to practice a lot of different skills. You need a smooth surface for a few reasons

This will prevent your stick blade from being scraped away and breaking

It will be a low-friction environment which will help you get faster hands

It will be more like the ice, giving you an easier transition from practicing off-ice to on-ice

It can be use for shooting, stickhandling, and passing all essential hockey skills

Pro Sized Shooting Pad Dryland Flooring Tiles Roll-up Shooting Pad Product Page: Pro Sized

Price: $99.95 ($89.95 with coupon)

Dimensions: 30 inches x 60 inches

Advantages: Thicker material is better on uneven surfaces. Very easy to move Product Page: Training Tiles

Price: $11.95 per tile

Dimensions: 1.5 foot per tile

Advantages: Recommended for indoor use. Very sturdy, can be used to create a very large training area Product Page: Roll-up Pad

Price: $119.95 ($109.95 with coupon)

Dimensions: 4 feet x 8.5 feet

Advantages: Very large size which is great for practicing a lot of moves. Thinner material is recommended for smooth hard surfaces.

HockeyShot coupon code: HOWHCKY001

Pucks are great on the ice, but off the ice they don’t slide so well. I still recommend using a puck sometimes to practice with, but to really work on your hands you will need some other items. I strongly recommend getting one of each of the following. I recommend these products because they can be used almost anywhere and allow you to improve your stickhandling and co-ordination.

Green Biscuit Wooden Ball Stickhandling Ball Product Page: Green Biscuit

Price: $12.95

Dimensions: Same as puck

Weight: 4.4 ounces

Advantages: The best off-ice puck Two piece design will prevent it from flipping and rolling like most pucks Awesome to use on almost any surface Product Page: Wooden Ball

Price: $3.50

Dimensions: About 2 inch diameter

Weight: Around 1.6 ounces

Advantages: Very light ball which is nice for practicing very fast hands and moves. Wood material is soft and easy to stickhandle with. Product Page: Stickhandling Ball

Price: $10.95 or $7.95 for the HS ball

Dimensions: 2.1 inch diameter

Weight: 5 ounces

Advantages: The SmartHockey ball is designed to feel just like a puck. Soft outer shell, and weight has a good feel The HockeyShot Ball is a few dollars cheaper, but feels a little stiffer to handle

There are a few options for shooting, personally I like a net the most, but I will mention the other options as well. With something to shoot at you can work on many different types of shots and different shooting techniques that you can then fine tune while on the ice.

Golf Net Hockey Net Shooting Tarp Product Page: Various options

Price: $45+

Dimensions: 10′ x 10′ +

Advantages: Most affordable option. Can be used for multiple sports. Large area means it can be used as a backstop if you get a regular hockey net later. Product Page: EZ Goal

Price: $119.95 ($109.95 with coupon)

Dimensions: 4 x 6 (regulation)

Advantages: Has 2 inch posts, folds up for easy storage. Regulation size. Comes with targets. Will withstand shots up to 60MPH. Harder shots will dent posts. Product Page: Shooting Tarp

Price: $209.95 ($199.95 with coupon)

Dimensions: 7 feet x 16 feet

Advantages: Very large size protects everything behind it. Targets give you something to aim at. No posts for ricochets and flying pucks Can be used in garage or basement.

Shooting pucks is fun, searching for pucks is not fun. I like using a backstop because it allows you to spend more time shooting, and less time hunting for pucks. A backstop will give you more confidence to aim for the corners (not worried about missing), allow you to shoot more, and keep you from losing pucks! The first link also allows you to use it for other sports!

Fishing Net / Golf Net EZ Goal Backstop Product Page: Various options

Price: $45+

Dimensions: 10′ x 10′ +

Advantages: Most affordable option. Can be used for multiple sports. Larger area gives you more room for error. Not attached to the net which gives you some more creativity with the net. Permanently installed makes it easier to set up and take down your net. Good option if you want a permanent shooting area Product Page: EZ Goal Backstop

Price: $89.95 (Save $10 on order over $100)

Dimensions: 10 x 6

Advantages: Fits perfectly onto any regulation sized net (6 x 4). Bolts onto the EZ Goal hockey net. Side panels can be moved when shooting from an angle. Side meshing may get holes in it with hard shots!

Now this is not a necessity, however I do strongly recommend it. This is an awesome training aid to show you how well you are shooting, motivate you to keep improving, and give you instant feedback on every shot you take. This is a great tool to have after you are set up with the basics explained above.

HockeyShot Radar SpeedTrac Radar Product Page: HockeyShot Radar

Price: $99.95 ($89.95 with coupon)

Advantages: Most affordable radar.

Works well for hockey (unlike others I

have tested)

More consistent from close range Product Page: SpeedTrac Radar

Price: $139.95 ($129.95 with coupon)

Advantages: Durable (I’ve dropped it

and hit it with pucks a few times and it still

works)

Consistent readings from all distances

This is the most important tip in this article. If you buy these products but don’t use them, you won’t get any better! So what are you supposed to do? Well luckily I have a lot of tips for shooting and stickhandling that you can pour over and use. Make sure you are subscribed to this website (box in the left sidebar) and our Youtube Channel to be notified of new skills videos that we release.

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