This drill simulates zone entry net drive re-directions, similar to 3v2 or 2v1 plays off the rush.
Re-directions off the rush can be very allusive if we don’t play them correctly. Positioning is incredibly important here as we typically have little to no time to react to the redirection in tight. I like to be toes at the top of my crease when the puck is on the border of my mid zone. Our depth is important in these situations because we want to meet the redirection and try to be as close to it and as center to it as possible. “The secret” to these plays, actually attack the puck instead of backing up when you;re moving laterally, and get center to the net drive guy’s blade (since that will be the point of contact for the puck on the redirect). We need to come across square, and more often than not we want to be ready to react into a blocking style position with your arms tucked to your sides as the redirect makes contact.
A. F1 starts at the blue line and skates toward the top of the circle. F2 skates in from the top of the circle, and chooses 1 of 3 re-directions (back post drive, middle lane drive, far post drive). We want F2 to come in relatively tight for these re-directions in all lanes. No catch and shoot yet. Do all on one side, then switch to the other side.
B. Same drill, except F2 is allowed to receive the lane pass in the high slot and either redirect, catch and shoot or come in and deke. Do all on one side, then switch to the other side.
C. Same drill, except now randomly mix re-directions from the high and low slot in all 3 lanes. Do all on one side, then switch to the other side. This drill challenges your depth adjustments quite a bit.
Tip: I would play rebounds in all versions of this drill. Rebounds are typically hard to control after re-directions like this, and we’re just trying to seal holes anyway for the initial shot.