Hockey Shooting: Off-Ice Exercises

After a research-filled post on Stretching for Hockey and a long rant on NHL Combine Test Results and why comparing off-ice testing results between players is senseless, I thought I’d stick with something a little more laid back today.

Hockey players can improve their shooting power by improving their rotational power off the ice. Essentially, rotational power is maximized when it’s initiated through the hips and transferred through the core.

Check out a few of my favorite exercises below to improve rotational power (and hockey shooting power). I actually learned the “partner toss” variation of this from my colleague Mike Potenza from a video he posted on Hockey Strength and Conditioning. If you aren’t a member yet, I’m officially disappointed. You can try it for 7 days for only $1. I even bought a shorter domain name (http://HockeySC.com) so you don’t have to type in http://HockeyStrengthandConditioning.com everytime you want to go to the site. It can’t be any easier!

Hockey Strength and Conditioning

On to the videos:

Front Standing Med Ball Scoop

Side Standing Med Ball Scoop w/ Partner Toss


If you aren’t fortunate enough to have medicine balls and a flat concrete wall to throw them against, try adding an explosive rotational component to other upper body exercises:

Rotational 1-Arm Cable Chest Press

Rotational 1-Arm Cable Row

Mix these exercises into the beginning of your training sessions and you’ll start to notice that your shots have a little more power behind them.

To your continued success,

Kevin Neeld

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