I really think that transitional speed training should lay the foundation for speed training for almost all athletes. For ice hockey players, this is especially important in the offensive and defensive zones when all your movements are rapid bursts of speed interspersed with stops and direction changes.
I’ve played with and against countless players that were ridiculously fast goal-line to goal-line, but blended in with everyone else in smaller areas of play.
Check out this article on transitional speed training I wrote for Maria Mountain’s site.
It includes a few videos of my favorite transitional speed exercises.
-Kevin Neeld