Player Development

Mission

The Bluehawks Hockey Organization strives to provide a positive environment that promotes the development of hockey skills, good sportsmanship, competitive play, and fun for all players.

Age Level Development and Skill Plans

BLUEHAWKS PLAYER CORE DEVELOPMENT PILLARS

1. Skill Mastery

Build and refine the fundamental skills required to play at a high level.

• Skating (edges, stride, balance, transitions)
• Puck control (handling, passing, receiving)
• Shooting (accuracy, release, selection)
• Position-specific skills (defense, forward, goalie)
• Standard: Players execute skills with speed, control, and consistency under pressure.

2. Hockey IQ

Understand the game and make smart, effective decisions.

• Read & react to evolving situations
• Awareness (time, space, pressure, support)
• Offensive and defensive positioning
• Anticipation vs. reaction
• Standard: Players consistently make the right play at the right time.

3. Compete Level

Relentless effort and willingness to engage in every aspect of the game.

• Battle for pucks (1v1, small area, net-front)
• Win races and loose puck situations
• Work ethic away from the puck
• Mental toughness and resilience
• Standard: Players bring consistent intensity regardless of score or situation.

4. Character

How players show up as teammates, leaders, and individuals.

• Accountability and discipline
• Positive attitude and body language
• Coachability and willingness to learn
• Respect for teammates, coaches, and officials
• Standard: Players elevate the team culture and represent the program the right way.

Bluehawks Player Development Checklist – The Habits of Hockey

From an early age in our youth programs the Bluehawks put a heavy emphasis on our players ability to skate and skate skillfully with the puck. The USA Hockey ADM model promotes station-based practices to maximize repetition and skill development.

While developing advanced individual skills and game tactics/strategy become a larger component of practice time, it is critical at all ages to continue to prioritize skating as a skill – speed, acceleration, agility and power benefit forwards, defense, and goaltenders alike. From that solid foundation, we can begin to develop the basic skills of hockey: skating, stickhandling, passing and shooting.

The following examples emphasize what we believe are critical core habits we want all Bluehawk hockey players – at all levels – to become proficient at.

• Pass Like A Pro
• Play Without the Puck
• Stick on Puck/ Stick Positioning
• Deception
• Create Time & Space
• Puck Protection
• Steering/Angling Opponent
• Changing Shooting Angles



Pass Like a Pro

After skating, passing the puck is likely the most important component of the game – both being able to send a pass and receive a pass. Proper passing will not only increase the pace of the game play, but also create more time and space (another Bluehawks habit focus) for all players on the ice. Remind players that passing is all between the ears – it just takes focus. Every single player on your team can pass the puck – proper passing takes focus.

KEY POINTS:

• Cup the Puck: This keeps the puck flat on the ice
• Top Hand Away from Body: This allows you to cup the puck, and get more power on your pass
• Pull with Top Hand, Push with Bottom Hand: When giving the pass, roll your wrists to keep the blade closed so the puck doesn’t flip up
• Stick on Ice: Keep the blade low (don’t lift it) and the puck should stay flat on the ice
• Give a Good Pass: Pass to where the player is going

Create Time & Space

Making great hockey plays in traffic is hard. The best players figure out a way to create space, buy a little time and then make a play. Change speeds, making tight turns, switching places with a teammate and using deception can all create confusion for opponents, providing more time and space to create offense. 

Time and space are something every good offensive player will try to exploit. Time and space is fleeting, it’s temporary, so you not only need to be able to create it, but also use it. You’re always looking to open up the ice, reading and reacting to what the defense is doing and taking what they are giving you. Being a good skater helps; it’s hard to create time and space if you’re lumbering out there.

Play Without the Puck

Moving to open space when your team has possession is a great concept for every player and team to learn. It will not always create a scoring opportunity, but it will be harder for the defense to defend and will give your teammate an outlet if they need it.

KEY POINTS:

• Head-Up: keep your head up! Be aware of where the puck is and what your surroundings are
• Scan Ice: don't just stare at the puck. Look around and scan the ice. Scanning the ice allows you to see where everyone is and where the open ice is
• Go to Space: jump to the open space quickly or with deception (fake going one way and go another or start slow & go fast) so that the defending team can not easily follow you
• Communicate: use verbal and non-verbal communication with your teammates so they know where you are and where you are going

Puck Protection

Puck protection is an important skill for each player throughout the lineup. Not only do players need to protect the puck while keeping their feet moving (because every defender can skate in today’s game), but they also need to keep their head up and look for potential options. Puck protection includes delays, escapes and deception.

• Gaining Body Position: Establish position, control puck, keep puck furthest distance from opponent.
• Cut Backs and Punch Turns: Adding deception while controlling the puck away from the defender.
• Become a Threat: Creating offense and attacking the net are important elements to effective puck protection and possession.

Stick Positioning

An active stick as a defender is a critical habit for all players. Where a defender places their stick is a subtle yet extremely effective vehicle for taking away time and space. When defending a rush or engaging a player with the puck in the defensive zone, a common mistake is to lunge or dive at the puck.  Instead, your body should remain centered on the puck carrier’s body, “body on body”. Your stick is free to try to poke the puck “stick on stick”, but not if it pulls your body out of position. Remind players to maintain “D-side” positioning while playing stick on stick, body on body.

KEY POINTS:

• Net Side (“D-Side”) Position: keep your body between the puck and the defending net
• Stick on Stick, Body on Body: remain centered on the puck carrier’s body, “body on body”, and maintain and active stick taking away passing and shooting lanes
• Net Front: In front of the net is a special position for defensemen. This is where it is your job to engage forwards who are trying to create chaos in front. Maintain D-side, lift sticks, fight for position and vision of puck

Steering & Angling

Angling is one of the most important individual skills tactics in the game of hockey. It allows a player to dictate and control the play by putting pressure on the opposing team. After reading the offensive rush and backchecking pressure and making sure that the feet and stick are in a good position, the defender should look to angle the puck carrier towards the boards, eliminating the last amount of space.

Keys to teaching angling … static into chaos.

• Stick Positioning: Allows you the dictate the area of the play
• Angle: Inside out, takes away the middle of the ice first. Force the opponent to play from outside the dots, in. 
• Accelerate: Accelerating off the arm provides the momentum to take away the opponent's hands.
• Physical: Hands to belly, hips to hands, stick on puck

Creating Deception

The new generation of players skate with deception. The goal is to create space through deception. Some players can create time and space with speed alone but adding deception as a habit will provide another level for your player to create time and space. Skating with deception includes:

• removing predictable skill patterns,
• attacking what is being taken away before moving into the open ice,
• being deceptive with both routes and skills
• doing the opposite of what you want to do, before you do it

Players should take advantage to first fake/step into the skating routes of defenders, then subsequently push away aggressively into the opposite direction. Deception can occur with and without the puck!

Changing Shooting Angles

Getting shots through traffic – from the point or other scoring areas – is extremely important. It can be the difference between a wasted scoring opportunity or breakaway for the other team.

Changing the angle of the shot can be practiced on ice, but it should also be a heavy component of off ice, dryland work as a team and individually. The goal is to get comfortable with quickly getting the puck to an open shooting lane and breaking the habit of the player keeping their head down and shooting right into an attacking player.