Articles from the Ice
Real coaching knowledge from 35+ years of playing and teaching hockey. No fluff. No theory. Just what works.
Junior Hockey: The Step Most Parents Don't Understand Until It's Too Late
Most parents have never heard of junior hockey until their kid is 17 and scrambling. Here's what it is, why it matters, and what you should be doing right now.
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The Coach You Hate Might Be the One Who Gets You Your Next Job
Why adaptability is the most underrated skill in hockey and how the coach standing in front of you right now might be the one who gets you your next job.
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Stop Saying You Play Better with Better Players
Why this common excuse is holding you back and the mindset shift that changed my game and can change yours.
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The Skill Nobody Teaches That Every Coach Notices
Why being the player who picks up the pucks and does the job nobody asked is the fastest way to get noticed.
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Who Is That For?
Why players slam their sticks after mistakes, the defense mechanism nobody talks about, and how to break the cycle.
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150 Players Are Trying Out. How Do You Stand Out?
Most coaches have already picked their team before tryouts start. Here's how to crack a lineup when you're swimming upstream.
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Why Your Skills Coach Is Only Teaching You Half the Game
Most skills coaches specialize in one thing. Here's why that leaves your player with half the picture.
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Your Kid's Coach Is Not Playing Them. What to Do Next.
Your kid is on the bench and you don't know why. Before you email the coach or switch teams, here's what's actually happening.
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How to Score on a Breakaway Every Time
Most players have one move and hope for the best. Here's why that doesn't work and what to do instead.
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The Never Look at the Puck Myth
Every coach says it. Nobody teaches you how to do it. Here's what I tell my players instead.
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Coaches Who Pick on Players to Show Dominance
Most coaches who single out a player aren't trying to fix anything. They're trying to stay in charge. Here's what that looks like, who it happens to, and the only thing that resets it.
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Coming Back from Mistakes
Every player at every level makes mistakes. The question isn't whether you'll make them. The question is what you do in the seconds right after.
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Hockey Players Train Like Musicians
I taught myself guitar. I taught myself hockey. The process was identical. Here's the method that actually works and why most players skip the only part that matters.
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Stop Cradling the Puck When You Receive a Pass
Cradling the puck is one of those things every coach talks about but almost no one does in a real game. Here's why redirecting beats receiving every time.
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The Gray Space: Why the Best Players See Everything at Once
Every coach tells you to keep your head up. That's not wrong, but it's not the whole story. The real skill is the gray space — and the snapshot that makes the no-look pass possible.
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Use Your Body to Shield the Puck from Defenders
This one seems obvious. It almost never happens. Here's why positioning beats racing every time in a puck battle.
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Playing Not to Lose
I played small early in my career trying not to get noticed or yelled at. Nobody was watching that closely. And playing it safe meant I wasn't improving.
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Don't Force the Tool Belt
You practiced the toe drag a thousand times. Now you're forcing it in every game situation and getting laid out. Here's what's actually happening and how to fix it.
Read Article →These are working titles from the build list. Brad records the raw advice first, then the finished article gets written in his voice. Vote on what should get finished next.
A Major Skating Mistake That's Keeping You Slow
Why effort is not the same as speed. The stride problem that makes players work harder and move less.
SkatingFix Your Stride: Power, Glide, and Efficiency
The difference between pushing, gliding, and recovering your feet so every stride actually gives you something back.
DefenseGap Control: Close Space Without Getting Burned
How defensemen learn to take away time and space without lunging, reaching, or backing in too early.
DefenseDefenseman Toolkit: Feet First, Stick Second, Body Last
The order matters. Why your feet solve more problems than your stick, and why body contact comes after position.
SkatingFootwork That Wins: Crossovers, Cuts, and Quick Stops
The small footwork habits that separate players who arrive on time from players who chase the play.
DefenseShot Blocking: Safe Technique and Smarter Lanes
Blocking shots is not just bravery. It is lane reading, body angle, and knowing when not to eat one.
Skill DrillsPenalty Shots: Simple Plans Under Pressure
Most players lose the penalty shot before they shoot. Build a plan that survives nerves.
ShootingScoring Angles: Shoot from Bad Ice and Tight Slots
You do not always get the perfect lane. Learn how to score from the ice the game actually gives you.
CompeteThe Importance of Body Positioning in Hockey
The player who gets inside position does not need to be bigger. They need to understand leverage first.
ShootingSnapshot vs. Wrist Shot: What Actually Changes
The difference is not just the name. It is load, release, deception, and when the game gives you time.
DefenseThe Backward Crossover Myth for Defensemen
Why some coaches overcorrect backward crossovers, and what defensemen actually need under pressure.
MindsetThe 10,000-Hour Myth: Not If You're Training Wrong
Repetition only helps when the pattern is worth keeping. Otherwise you are just getting better at the mistake.
PassingAlways Pass Hard Is Bad Advice
Hard passes matter. So does touch. The right pass depends on distance, pressure, and what your teammate can handle.
DevelopmentWhy Good Players Practice Four or Five Times a Week
At higher levels, practice is not extra. It is where timing, habits, and confidence become automatic.
SkatingCrossing Over and Stopping: What Players Misunderstand
Two basic skills that get taught as moves, when they are really tools for changing pressure and direction.
SkatingEdge Control Is Not a Drill. It Is the Whole Game.
Edges decide whether you can adjust, escape, recover, shoot, and survive contact.
Hockey IQThe Give-and-Go: Simple, Old, and Still Hard to Defend
Why the first pass is not the play. The second action is what makes the defender choose wrong.
CompeteLow Center of Gravity: How to Protect the Puck Without Panicking
Stop reaching for strength. Get lower, get wider, and make the defender go through you.
Puck ControlBecoming a Better Puck Handler Without Doing Circus Tricks
The puck handling that matters in games is not fancy. It is timing, touch, space, and pressure.
Puck ControlHow to Improve Your Stickhandling Skills for Real Games
Hands are only part of it. Feet, eyes, spacing, and decisions are what make stickhandling useful.
DefenseProper Backchecking Technique
Backchecking is not just skating hard. It is taking away options before the puck becomes dangerous.
SkatingPivots: The Skill That Exposes Your Balance
If your pivot falls apart, the problem usually started before the turn.
Hockey IQTiming and Reaction Speed
Fast players are not just faster. They see the trigger earlier and move before everyone else reacts.
PassingPassing and Puck Movement
The puck moves faster than any player. The best teams use that as a weapon, not a bailout.
CoachingCoaches, Stop the BS. What You Say Matters.
Players remember the voice in the hard moments. Coaching language can build confidence or bury it.
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