Varsity Forecheck Pressure Tryout Skate (2-1-2 & 1-2-2)

We start with pace and touches—no laps. Get them moving like a game-week skate while you take a first look at stride, edges, and puck control under speed.

• Flow: full-ice dynamic warm-up into continuous puck touches (tight turns, punch turns, mohawks if they have it), then quick shots off the rush.
• Coach eyes: who can handle a puck at speed without looking down, and who needs extra space to make a play.
• Standard: pucks stay on the ice; shots are low and on net—goalies need clean tracking early.

This is the install. We’re not here long, but we have to be exact so the later reps are meaningful.

Setup: use one end. Place discs to mark F1 start lane and the wall contact area. Put three forwards at the red line, two D at the far blue. Coach spots pucks to a corner or to a D for D-to-D.

• 2-1-2 (we run the hard version): F1 angles inside-out to force the puck to one wall and takes away the middle with his stick. F2 commits below the tops of the circles on the strong side to win the wall on the rim or the chip. F3 stays high and in the middle (between the dots) as the safety and first reload if the puck escapes. D hold the blue with sticks in the lanes—pinch stick-first only when F2 has the wall sealed.
• 1-2-2: F1 angles to force a side and takes away the middle; he finishes the route and peels off if the puck goes D-to-D—he does not chase behind the net. F2 is strong-side inside-out support in the top-of-circle to hash lane, ready to jump the wall on a rim. F3 stays middle/high as the safety to kill the middle exit and be first reload if it pops out. Both D hold the blue with a tight gap.
• Common bust: F3 drifting high and wide—pull him and reset: “You’re inside support. If you’re outside the dots, you’re late to every loose puck.”

We need first-touch habits for OZ pressure: shoulder check, take contact, and make a play that keeps us in the zone.

Setup: two corners running. Coach rims a puck; D starts at the blue, forward starts at top of circle as the chaser. Retrieval player must get to the puck first, take a hit angle, and move it to the point or bump to a supporting forward.

• Coaching points: shoulder check before the first touch; use the net as a pick when it’s there; get your hands free on contact so the puck can move.
• Evaluation: grade the first play—does it stay in the zone with possession, or is it a panic rim that exits?
• Rep script: 3 reps each side per D, then rotate forwards. Keep it to 8–10 seconds per rep.

Quick water. While they drink, give one correction each for F1 angle and D pinch posture. Name your two PP units now for the net-front quick-hits block later so nobody is organizing on the clock. Then tell them the next block is graded: wall battle outcome plus the next play.

This is where OZ pressure lives. Winning the wall isn’t the end—making the next play is the separator at varsity level.

Setup: half-ice on both sides if you have staff; if not, run one side and keep lines tight. 2v2 on the wall (F vs D or F vs F), with a third forward as the slot outlet and a D at the point.

Contact rules for this block: shoulder-to-shoulder positioning, stick lifts, and pinning on the wall are all live. No boarding, no cross-checks to the numbers, no hits on a player who has turned his back to the wall. Whistle ends the rep—an extra shove after the whistle is a losing rep in the grade.

1. Coach dumps or rims the puck into the wall lane.
2. 2v2 battle for 5–7 seconds.
3. On a win, the puck must go immediately to slot or point for a shot with a screen arriving.

• Coaching points: inside hand strong; hips lower than opponent; use your skates to trap and kick; don’t turn your back and hope.
• Common bust: player wins the puck then holds it—blow it dead: “Win it and move it. If you can’t make the next play, you didn’t really win.”
• Competitive standard: two clean wins in your three reps to be ‘above the line’ for this block.

Game-pace detail: screens that actually take the goalie’s eyes and rebounds that get finished through contact.

Setup: point shots with two net-front players: one screener, one rebound hunter. D at the blue taking low, quick shots; forwards rotate through net-front every 2 shots.

Crease and goalie rules: screener sets up at the top of the crease, never inside it; no contact with the goalie at any point; the defender may box out with body position and stick-on-stick but no cross-checks. Rebounds are live until the goalie covers or the whistle goes—then everyone clears immediately.

• Install rule: screen sets on the goalie’s sightline—don’t chase the puck. Rebound hunter stays off the post lane and attacks loose pucks with stick available.
• What we’re grading: does the screener hold his feet through the shot, and does the rebound player arrive on time (not after the save)?
• Goalie safety: no hacks after the whistle; if a player makes goalie contact, he sits the next rotation.

This is the main evaluation block. We’re putting the install under speed with real reads and real consequences.

Setup: full-ice 5v5. Coach spots pucks to start each rep: rim to strong-side corner, D-to-D behind the net, or quick-up to the wall. One group is the forechecking team; the other is breaking out. Tryout contact standard applies—no open-ice hits.

• Rep script: 12–14 reps total. Each rep is 12–15 seconds, whistle dead, immediate reload to the next puck. Rotate lines every rep; D pairs every 2 reps. Budget the first minute for line organization, then keep reps to 12 seconds.
• Big-group rotation: with 20–30 skaters, run two forechecking lines vs two breakout lines for 6 reps, then swap groups; D pairs rotate on a fixed order, and extra skaters form a third line that jumps in every third rep.
• Call it: coach yells “2-1-2” or “1-2-2” before the puck is spotted. Players must echo it on the ice—if the bench is silent, that’s a team bust.
• Competitive standard: forechecking group must create either a turnover, a forced rim that we keep in, or a controlled dump that leads to a retrieval. If the breakout exits clean with possession, that’s a loss.
• Common bust: F2/F3 collapse below the puck and give up the high exit—stop and correct: “We’re not chasing below the goal line in 1-2-2. Stay above and kill the middle.”
• Film note: chart F1 angle success and D hold rate at the blue; those two decide whether the system works.

This is not a power play install—it’s a quick look at who can take contact in front and still make a play, because net-front translates directly to the PP once the roster is set.

Line-up and reset: two pucks staged on the blue line, coach at the point, one unit in place (screener, rebound hunter, three point/flank players in a basic umbrella spot). Whistle, shot from the top with the screen set, rebound live until covered, whistle. The next unit jumps on immediately while the first unit skates to the bench.

Run: two reps per unit, alternating Unit 1 / Unit 2, four reps total. No re-dos; if the rep dies clean, that’s the rep. Same crease and goalie-contact rules as the screen block.

Gather the group at center ice for a fast, focused wrap-up.

• Recap the forecheck rules installed today: F1 angles to take away the middle, F2 is the strong-side read who arrives on the rim (below the circles in 2-1-2, at the hash lane in 1-2-2), F3 is the middle safety and first reload, D hold the blue and pinch stick-first only.
• Call out two or three players who won wall battles or finished routes at full speed—effort, not just skill.
• Tell players exactly what evaluators are watching for next session: route discipline, compete level on retrievals, and communication.
• Coaches log tryout notes immediately after leaving the ice while reps are fresh.