Tip: SHOT BLOCKING

Why Shot Blocking Matters

Shot blocking is an important part of the game. It is one of those skills that separates players who are truly committed to winning from players who are just out there for themselves. Every coach at every level notices who is willing to get in front of a puck and who quietly moves out of the lane. That reputation follows a player.

We train early on how to shot block and how to protect yourself in the dirty areas safely and effectively. Teaching it young builds the right habits before bad ones have a chance to develop. A player who learns proper technique early is going to be far more confident doing it in a real game when the stakes are high.

Three Key Points for Introducing Shot Blocking

Get Low and Get Big

This is the foundation. When you stay upright, you leave too much net exposed and you put yourself in a bad position to absorb a puck safely. Drop down, square up, and make yourself as wide as possible. Your goal is to take up space and take the shooting lane away.

Position Yourself on the Goalie's Stick Side, Not His Body

This is a detail a lot of youth players get wrong. You want to be positioned on the goalie's stick, not his body, so the goalie can see in the lane. Your job is to take away part of the net, not block your own goalie's sightline. Work together with your goalie, not against him.

Get Fearless

This is the hardest one to teach because it is mental. The fear of getting hit by a puck is real, but the technique takes care of most of it. Once a player understands how to go down properly and protect themselves, the fear starts to shrink. Repetition in practice builds that confidence over time. You have to put in the reps before you trust yourself to do it in a game.

As one professional coach shared: "My teammates loved me, I was not a skill guy, I was a shot blocker. Nobody wants to do it because it hurts sometimes but this is an integral part of the game."

That says everything. Skill guys are everywhere. Players who will sacrifice their body to win a game are rare, and teams value them.

Development Through Your Hockey Journey

As your player progresses in age, stature, and hockey IQ, they will develop and refine shot-blocking techniques through proper instruction and practice. What works for a younger player learning the basics looks different from what a high-level teen player is doing in front of a shot from a college-bound defenseman.

The timing, the read on the shooter, the communication with your defensive partner, knowing when to commit and when to hold, all of that gets layered in over years of development. You do not learn it all at once. That is fine. The important thing is that the foundation is correct from the start, so each new layer of skill has something solid to build on.

Players who block shots also tend to develop a better overall sense of defensive positioning. When you are willing to put yourself in those areas, you start to see the ice differently. You read plays earlier and you understand where danger is coming from before it gets there.

Our Professional Development Approach

Our programs use unbiased professional eyes to develop youth hockey players with no parent coaching and no politics. That matters more than people realize. A player needs honest feedback, not feedback filtered through someone who wants to protect their kid's feelings or push an agenda.

Players are grouped in small sets with their own dedicated coach, layered with a head coach and specialty coaches. That structure means players are getting genuine attention, not just moving through drills in a crowd. All participants receive an online evaluation after training from their group coach, so the feedback does not stop when camp ends.

If your player wants to move up a group, we encourage them to try, and vice versa. The goal is always to put players in the right environment where they are challenged and growing.

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Frequently Asked Questions

At what age should players start learning how to block shots?

You can introduce the basic concepts early, even at the younger youth levels. The focus at that age is on body positioning and not being afraid of the puck. You are not asking a young player to dive in front of a one-timer, you are building comfort with the idea and teaching them to get low and use proper form. As they get older and stronger, the technique becomes more advanced and the situations they face become more demanding.

Is shot blocking dangerous if not taught correctly?

Yes, and that is exactly why proper instruction matters. Players who try to block shots without any coaching tend to turn away, close their eyes, or go down at the wrong angle, and that is when you get hurt. Taught the right way, with the right stance and approach, shot blocking is a skill like anything else. The technique exists to protect the player while also being effective.

Does my child need to be big or physical to be a good shot blocker?

No. Shot blocking is about positioning, timing, and willingness. Plenty of smaller players have been highly effective shot blockers at advanced levels because they understood where to be and committed to doing it. Size helps in some situations, but the mental side and the technique are what actually make a player good at this.

How do coaches evaluate a player's shot-blocking ability?

Coaches watch for positioning, awareness, and commitment. Are you reading the play and getting into the lane early? Are you communicating with your partner? Are you willing to go down when it counts? A player who consistently puts themselves in the right spot and follows through earns a coach's trust. It is one of those things that gets noticed quickly because so few players actually do it well.