Ice hockey is all about moving the puck with the hockey stick. Both these vital skills are mandatory for the players on the ice to take control of the puck and advance it to the other team’s goal cage just by skating through the ice rink. The center skater having the possession of the puck needs to skate in with the opponents and most importantly without losing the possession of the puck. The other team players create free spaces for the puck carrier and try to set up a scoring opportunity playing against the goaltender to make a goal.
Stickhandling is basically the art of moving the puck to aim for a subsequent goal and scoring a point. Ice hockey players usually possess excellent skating skills eventually in the game. When the puck is introduced the players skating ability drops off as they need to balance themselves on the skates and keep the puck moving with their sticks. For the player to maintain coordination between his head and eye along with keeping the puck on the stick, some simple rules are followed − 안전놀이터
Hand Positioning − Appropriate hand positioning is the key to keep the puck in play. Players need to have strong grip over the stick from top hand and soft grip from the bottom for easy access of the puck. An important technique in hand positioning is known as Soft hands.
Stick Blade Positioning − The hockey stick blade positioning is another important method to control the puck. The blade movement should be supported by the heel and toe position. While moving the puck, the blade should sweep the surface back and forth smoothly without rolling the puck.
Head Positioning − With the perfect head up position the player can read the playing environment exactly and develops a line-of-sight vision which helps the player to react in minimum amount of time.
Puck control − It is the art of possessing the puck against opposing players on the rink. The whole game of ice hockey is based on puck possession. It is compulsory for all the players and importantly the puck carrier to gain control of the puck and sustain it until another player is accessible to advance the puck. The best technique to retain the ownership of the puck is when the player moves in between the puck and a defenseman, the player uses his arms to keep the defenseman away and use the stick to handle the puck. This situation occurs mostly near the corners, adjacent to the boards of the rink and all around the goal cage area.
