Originally published: 17 June 2024

Last updated: Oct 2026

Stickhandling is one of the most important skills to work on if you want to take your game to the next level. You can be an amazing skater with a great shot, and of course, both traits can take you far in the hockey world. But adding in stickhandling can open up a whole other range of opportunities on the ice—you’ll have a significant advantage when it comes to maintaining control of the play, maneuvering around opponents, and creating scoring opportunities.

Whether you're a beginner or looking to refine your skills, incorporating stickhandling drills into your practice routine can significantly enhance your performance on the ice. In this article, we’ll explore the basics of stickhandling and provide some helpful drills to get you started.

The drills start out very basic, then get progressively more challenging. Regardless of where you place your skills, it’s highly suggested that you still practice with all of them to receive the maximum benefit and build more muscle memory.

Core Skills

Before looking at the drills, you need to understand the fundamentals of stickhandling first. Here are a few key points to keep in mind:

Grip

Your top hand should be doing most of the work when stickhandling. This hand will be in charge of gripping the stick and moving it; make sure you are holding it away from your body and using mostly your wrist to turn the blade. In contrast, your bottom hand should be used to steady your stick and guide it in the right direction. Your bottom hand should not be gripping the stick; in fact, it should be pretty loose and able to shift up and down your stick when bringing the puck closer and further away from your body.

Loose Hands

Along those lines, you want your hands to be pretty loose and light when handling your stick. Unless your stick is older and made of wood, or it's custom, you probably have a stick with grip on it. Sticks with texture will be designed not just to help you hold the stick, but to allow for more focused movement along the shaft. It's still good to keep your hands loose and ready to readjust at a moment's notice.

Adjust Your Stance

Maintain a low stance with your knees bent and your weight centred while training. This position will keep you more balanced and mobile when training, and will help you learn to engage your core. Core strength is essential not just with stickhandling, but with balance and quick transitions when playing.

Full-Body Movement

Something players may not think about is that stickhandling isn’t just your hands, but a full-body movement. You won’t be stationary on the ice like you will in the garage, so it’s good to add just a little bit of motion to your practice. Even if you’re just swaying side to side, you’re practicing balance and control at the same time as your handling. This is another great chance to work on engaging your core as you stickhandle, and you may even find that incorporating your full body rather than just your hands and wrists feels more natural.

Look Up

Once you’ve gotten comfortable, make it a habit to look up and away from the puck. Your eyes can tell you where the play is going, and you can’t see your teammates opening up for a pass or opponents closing in if you’re staring down at your hands.

Don’t Rush Yourself

Don’t be afraid to take everything slow if you’re just starting to develop your stick skills. It’s okay to lose the puck or ball often, and exaggerating your movements is encouraged. Looking down at the puck is also welcome if you aren’t ready for that step yet.

Where to Practice

Some may have less difficulty finding a place to practice than others, depending on where you live and what's around you. You’ll want to select an appropriate location while considering safety for yourself and your environment.Here are some places worth considering for your practice sessions.

Driveway or Garage

These areas are often flat with enough space for a variety of stickhandling drills. An issue some players may experience is that some driveways may occasionally have an incline; that said, you can still use that incline to change up your drills. Ensure the surface is smooth and free of debris to prevent accidents and damage, and watch out for cars at all times.

Basement or Another Indoor Space

A basement or dedicated playroom can be a great spot to practice if you’ve got the space. In bad weather or the later hours, indoors is ideal. These spots can also keep the training more contained. If possible, move any breakables out of the room or in protective containers (cupboards, storage boxes, etc.). Even if you think you’re being pretty careful, accidents do occur. And since exaggerating your stickhandling is a big part of honing the muscle movements, you don’t want to have to be so cautious that you hold back.

Backyard

A flat area in your backyard can be another excellent spot. You can use synthetic ice tiles or shooting pads to mimic the feel of real ice, and if your backyard is mostly grass. Patios might be more difficult to stickhandle on top of (due to planks or textures), but they can work if you set a mat down.

Local Park

If you don’t have the space at home or aren’t near any rinks, a nearby local park is a great spot to practice stickhandling. Just be mindful that it’s a public space, and there will be other people nearby. You don’t want to accidentally hit someone with your stick or cause another person to trip over your hockey ball.

Safety Considerations

Proximity to Houses/Property

We touched on this a bit earlier, but it is extremely important. When practicing outside, be aware  of your surroundings. Ensure that you are not too close to windows, cars, or other property  that could be damaged by stray pucks or balls.

Supervision for Kids

Children must be supervised while practicing stickhandling to prevent accidents and injuries. Unsupervised training can also lead to mishandling of equipment or unintended damage to nearby property.

Minimizing Damage

There are a few things you can do to minimize the risks while practicing your stickhandling:

• Choose areas away from breakable objects and people.

• Use barriers or nets to catch stray pucks or balls.

• Practice on surfaces that can handle repeated impacts with minimal wear.

• Supervise young players to ensure they practice safely and responsibly.

What Ball to Use

Of course, you can always practice stickhandling on ice. There is a wide variety of hockey balls and pucks suitable for stickhandling practice, each with their own characteristics:

Plastic Pucks/Balls

Both plastic pucks and balls are excellent for stickhandling practice. They are lightweight and can mimic the feel of pucks on smooth surfaces. They are generally safe for most practice environments but can still cause damage if used recklessly near fragile objects. If using pucks on a rougher, dirtier surface, they may not slide that well. Additionally, hockey balls may feel sticky with blades with tape on them, which may make them a bit more difficult to stickhandle with.

Weighted Balls

These are heavier and help build strength and stickhandling speed. They are best used in open spaces where there is a minimal risk of causing damage. Avoid shooting weighted balls outside of controlled areas.

Swedish Stickhandling Balls

These are specialized training balls designed to improve puck control and hand speed. They glide well on smooth surfaces and are safe for both indoor and outdoor practice. Swedish balls will also feel the most similar to how a hockey puck feels on ice. Like weighted balls, however, some varieties can be dense and dangerous if shot; they are designed for stickhandling only.

Golf Balls

A classic, golf balls can be a surprisingly effective tool for improving your stickhandling. They are similar in feel to Swedish balls and are smaller, harder, and bouncier than typical hockey balls, making them perfect for working on hand-eye coordination. At the same time, that hardness and potential to ricochet unexpectedly can easily cause damage if you aren’t careful.

Tennis Balls

Tennis balls are another good alternative for stickhandling practice, especially for younger players or those looking for a safer option. These balls are soft and light, so if the player loses control, it’s highly unlikely it will break anything. The main downside to tennis balls is that stickhandling will feel very different from that with a puck on ice.

Note that only soft hockey balls and tennis balls are appropriate to shoot with, and only in the right environment; other balls are much heavier, denser, and can easily cause damage.

Protecting Your Stick

Sticks are designed to be used out on smooth playing surfaces—that said, you won’t always have access to smooth surfaces and will need a way to protect your blade. Outside on the street and other playing surfaces where the friction is high, just using hockey stick tape may not cut it.

One option is to use an old stick. You won’t have to worry about the blade getting damaged, and you can even cut the stick down a bit further to mimic the proper height on skates (since your stick might feel a bit taller than usual when training). The main  issue with this strategy is that it’s not the stick you’ll be using on the ice, and it will be easier to translate those skills to the ice when your stick is the same as in practice.

The other option is to use a blade protector. These protective coverings are designed to fit snugly over the blade of your stick, shielding it from the rough terrain during off-ice practice. Blade protectors are typically made from durable rubber or plastic and are incredibly light. They are also pretty easy to install, with companies like Bauer even creating molded blade protectors designed to fit very specific blade types.

Having a blade protector on hand will be more cost-effective in the long run. Using an older, lower-end stick might be okay to start, but the blade will wear down. Depending on how rough the surface is, it may also be uncomfortable using a stick without protection. Blade protectors can better mimic the feel of the stick on ice, which is exactly what you want.

Regular, dedicated practice is key to developing the quick hands and precise control needed to outmaneuver opponents on the ice.

This drill set starts with the fundamentals and progresses to more advanced motions. Feel free to adjust these drills based on your comfort level, or incorporate suggestions from your coach to optimize your training progress.

1. Dribbles / Short Stationary Stickhandling

Dribbling in hockey refers to quick, successive stickhandling. Dribbles are a great introduction and warm-up to more advanced stickhandling, which is why it’s important to master or at least become proficient in this skill first before moving on to other variations.

1. Place the ball or puck in front of you.
2. Make a standard stickhandling movement, passing the ball between your forehand and your backhand. Don’t worry about varying it too much right now, just keep it close to your body and the stickhandling short.

Focus on the points in the Basics section of this article, particularly with your hand placement and grip. Remember that your top hand should be rotating and gripping the stick, while your bottom hand should be guiding the direction. Bring your hand slightly away from your body, so you get used to the positioning. This will make it easier to progress to footwork later down the road.

As you gain more confidence, you can try moving the puck around your body, or add some side-to-side rocks (swaying). Remember to bring your head up once you’re comfortable with the movement.

It may not be as fun or exhilarating just doing basic motions, but if you can’t do dribbles with your head up, you won’t be able to do the later drills either.

2. Wide Stickhandling

The focus of this drill is to expand your range of motion and improve your puck control over a larger area, further away from your body. This skill is also key to enhancing your puck protection skills.

1. Position the puck or ball in front of you, ensuring you have enough space to accommodate a far reach with your stick.
2. Remember to bend your knees and be on the balls of your feet; this drill will require more full-body movement than dribbles.
3. Move the puck or ball from one side of your body to the other in a wide arc.
4. As you move the puck or ball, extend your reach as far as possible to each side, maintaining control throughout the motion.

You want to work your way up to pushing that reach beyond your limit. Again, exaggeration is highly encouraged. Don’t be afraid to lose the ball a few times when reaching out wide, and don’t be afraid to look down when first figuring out the motions or challenging your reach further. Work on extending your reach as far as possible; if you need to bend your knees and put yourself off balance, then all the better. Getting comfortable handling the puck while off balance will make later progressions much easier.

Once this drill becomes too easy, you can vary it a bit. NHL skills coach, Max Ivanov, demonstrates his own variation of wide stickhandling that includes a lunging motion to really exaggerate maneuvering the puck wide.

3. Short to Wide

This drill continues to build on your proficiency with both short and wide stickhandling by a transition between close control and extended reach. This drill is excellent for developing your ability to adjust to different scenarios on the ice quickly.

1. Begin with the ball or puck close to your body, performing quick, tight dribbles.

2. Transition to wide stickhandling for a few reps, then back to tight dribbles.

The goal of short to wide stick handling is to become more comfortable with transitioning between the two movements. Mastering this skill can enhance your dekes later as well.

4. Around the World

This drill is great not just for developing your skills, but also as a regular warm up. Despite its simplicity, it still requires a lot of full-body movement, making it a good, natural progression for incorporating your full body into stickhandling.

Pay close attention to the forehand and backhand swaps in this drill

1. Set Up: This drill can be done on or off the ice. Ensure you have enough space, specifically in the area around you, to move the ball around you without obstruction.
2. Start with the ball on your forehand. Push it forward and catch it on your backhand, making sure to cup the blade around the ball.
3. Transition the ball to your forehand, then push it across your body, once again catching it on your backhand.
4. Again, transition the ball to your forehand, then push the ball down on your other side, catching it on the backhand. If you did the movement correctly, you should’ve made a U-shape around your body.
5. Now it’s time to go back—but don’t transition to your forehand this time. Instead, on your backhand, pass the ball forward, this time catching it on your forehand. You will do the same motion you did earlier but backwards, passing the puck from your backhand to your forehand instead.

Focus on cupping and controlling the puck or ball. Once the drill starts to feel too easy, you can modify it by speeding it up,adding  dribbles between transitions, or incorporating toe drag variations.

5. Figure 8s

The setup for this drill is not technically necessary, but it helps to have some guidelines.

The Figure 8 drill is another stationary drill in which you maneuver the ball or puck in a Figure 8 pattern around two small obstacles.

1. Set up: Place two small items (like pucks or cones) about 1-2 feet apart on the ground. The distance can be adjusted to your comfort level.
2. Start with the ball on one side of the first item. Work on keeping your motions controlled and precise; continue the motion to bring it around the second item, forming a Figure 8 pattern.
3. After a couple of reps, switch directions.

Remember to focus on cupping and protecting the puck, as we started doing in the previous drill.

There are a variety of ways you can modify this drill: switching up the ball, speeding up, adding obstacles, and moving the cones’ or your position are just a few modification options. Doing the Figure 8 drill on your side (forehand or backhand) is an amazing way to work on protecting the puck.

“Traffic” Variation

For this version, you may need a small bucket-worth of pucks, and it is best on a flat, smooth surface, whether that be on-ice or on synthetic ice, with lots of room. Hockey balls may not be as suitable for this exercise.

 1. Set up: Place the pucks out randomly in front of you and around your sides.

2. Take one puck and weave it around the pucks, in between the spaces randomly.

 3. Whenever you “miss” and hit another puck, swap the puck you were stickhandling with the puck you hit and keep going. You should now be stickhandling the puck you hit.

Optional: Keep a timer and score how many pucks you accidentally touch within the alotted time limit.

6. Spell the Alphabet

This is probably my overall favourite pre-game warm-up. It’s exactly as it sounds—you’ll be spelling the alphabet using the puck.

1. Find an area with a lot of space in front of you.
2. Start with uppercase letters, Using controlled movements, spell out the alphabet from A - Z with the ball.
3. Once you gain more confidence, do it again but switch to lowercase.

Start slow with this drill. Your first few times through, you may need a moment to figure out how to tackle each letter. Once the motions start feeling natural, start speeding it up.

Uppercase and lowercase letters will feel different and work on different things. Uppercase are straighter, a bit easier to execute, and will allow you to work on a combination of standard stickhandling and straight toe drags. Lowercase, on the other hand, is more rounded, focusing on tighter, more precise transitions between toe drags and cupping the puck.

7. Deke Drills

You may have noticed the last few drills have been slowly building up proficiency in both maneuvering the puck along the ice and deking.

Deking, or faking out an opponent to create space or a scoring opportunity, is an asset in hockey. Mastering deking can be the difference between maintaining puck possession and turning it over to the opposition. Players who are comfortable handling the puck and going around defenders will also be better at controlling the ice and play.

When working on dekes, practice selling it; by that, we mean using as much of your entire body as possible— even your head and upper body. Not all defenders will be fooled by just stickhandling; you need to fake that you are going that direction, not just your stick and the puck.

The following are a couple of options for deke drills, but feel free to vary or adjust them to your heart’s content.

Yo-Yo Drill

The Yo-Yo drill works on extending your reach, catching the ball on both the toe and heel of your stick blade, and sliding your bottom hand along the shaft. It’ll feel similar to Spelling the Alphabet and Around the World and is a great way to work on forehand toe drags.

1. Start with the ball on your forehand, next to your foot.
2. Push the ball to the side, perpendicular to your stance and catching it on the toe. Pay attention to how your bottom hand moves closer to the top of the shaft when you catch the ball.
3. Pull the ball back to its original position next to your foot, catching it on the heel of the blade.
4. This time, push the ball forward, parallel to your stance, once again catching the ball on the toe.
5. Pull the ball back to its original position.
6. Repeat the rotation, speeding up when you get more comfortable. Remember to practice looking up.

Between the Legs

A variation of the Figure 8 drill, instead of doing Figure 8s around obstacles, you will be doing it between your legs. This drill builds on your range of motion with the puck, while also working on core engagement and torso rotation.

1. Start with the ball naturally on your forehand, slightly off to the side. You want a clear path to bring the ball backward.
2. Pull the ball straight down, not completely in the space behind you but lined up behind your feet. Whether your pulling method is using a toe drag or backhand is up to you.
3. Push the puck through your legs, ideally in one motion. You may not get this part on the first try; finding the right angle may require some stretching and practice.
4. Once it’s through your legs, it should hopefully have come out and landed on your other side, mirroring the starting position on your backhand side. Readjust it to be mirroring that starting position from Step 1 if it’s not quite there.
5. Repeat the steps, this time on your backhand.

It’s very common to lose the ball a few times when doing this drill for the first time. Don’t worry too much about it—that’s why you’re here practicing. This drill is extremely good at pulling you out of your comfort zone and getting you to commit your full body to the motion.

8. Adding Footwork

If all the previous drills have become a cakewalk, these next ones can help increase the difficulty while also making the stickhandling feel more game-like. The focus here is to add movement, push you outside of your comfort zone, and practice stickhandling while off-balance.

This progression will force you to keep your head up, since they are designed to split your focus between stickhandling and another activity. Because these are advanced drills that demand a lot of movement and focus, it’s best to start them only after you’re comfortable looking away from the puck while stationary.

McDavid Crossovers

A relatively famous variation. Place two hurdles or sticks on either side of you and do crossovers over them while dribbling the puck quickly in front of you

Balance Board

In this drill, you would stickhandle while standing on a balance board. If you have the space, you can vary the stickhandling; short dribbles, wide handling, toe drags, etc.

Pass Rebounder

In between stickhandling drills, you can incorporate a pass in between reps if you have a pass rebounder or something similar (a friend also works).

Toe Taps

With a soccer ball or other similar ball, alternate tapping each foot on the top of the ball while simultaneously stickhandling. Take this one as fast or slow as you are comfortable with; you want to push yourself, but you don’t want to roll an ankle. If you don't have a soccer ball, or are uncomfortable with using one for this drill, you can use something more stationary, such as a cone, glove, stack of pucks, etc.

Of course, these aren’t the only drills out there. Get creative! Chat with friends or a coach to develop new drills for yourself and your teammates.

Be consistent: Practice stickhandling regularly to build muscle memory and improve your skills over time.

Vary it: Incorporate different drills into your routine to challenge yourself and keep your practice sessions engaging.

Progression: Start with basic drills and gradually increase the difficulty as you become more comfortable.

Mimic the pros: Watching hockey improves more than just your stickhandling—it also builds situational awareness, so you know when to use certain moves. Pay close attention to the players’ hands when they maneuver the puck and the situations they are in.

Feedback: Record your practice sessions or ask a coach for feedback. Identifying areas for improvement can help you focus your training efforts more effectively.

Find friends: Have some friends or teammates to practice with. This will not only make the drills more fun but also introduce new challenges and help you learn from others.

Thank you TapeGuyLuke and our social media team for the stickhandling demonstrations! Make sure to check them out on Instagram (Luke's Instagram), YouTube, and TikTok.

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Doyle, Mike. “4 Keys to Great Stick Skills.” Minnesota Hockey, 27 March 2020. Source Link.

“Dryland (off-ice) stick-handling.” USA Hockey, n.d. Source Link.

Hockey Tutorial. "Complete Science of Stickhandling: Hands, Shoulders, Body & Feet. YouTube, 24 Aug 2025. Source Link.

“Puck Control Skill Development | Puck Control Pathway.” Hockey Canada Player Development, n.d. Source Link.