Skating Characteristics of NHL Forwards

A study of NHL forwards found that they "spend most of their time on the ice gliding on two feet interspersed with cruise strides, medium intensity skating and struggling for the puck or position. They spent equal amounts of time skating at a high intensity and skating backward. They turned left more than right. High point scorers glided on two feet with the puck more than low point scorers, conversely low point scorers had more occurrences of backward to forward skating," ironically what this means for high school players is that perhaps they have to do the exact opposite. They have to do what every good high school coach tells their players to do... move their feet. If high school players coast or glide on the ice they do not have the leg strength to cover an area as quickly as professionals do. How many times has a coach had to battle with bad habits formed by emulating a style of play that simply does not work at this age level? At the high school level what this study confirms is that players need to work on their conditioning, leg strength, and skating style if they want to be able to someday cover the ice as well the pros do.