By Greg Bates, AHAI – The last eight months have been difficult for everyone. For hockey players, not only are they missing jumping on the ice and skating with friends, they’re losing valuable skill development time.

This is especially true for goalies, who rely on reps to maintain their unique skill set. USA Hockey ADM Manager of Goaltending Steve Thompson has some ideas for goalies to stay sharp during these unusual times.

By Dan Scifo, USA Hockey - Winnipeg Jets star Connor Hellebuyck allowed his challenges at a young age to propel him into becoming one of the best goaltenders in the world.

Hellebuyck, a native of Commerce, Michigan, rose from the North American Hockey League (NAHL), one of the top junior hockey leagues in the United States, in 2011-12 to the top of the National Hockey League (NHL) after he won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the league in September.

“On the road to perfection, you have to fail,” Hellebuyck said. “It’s so hard to see in the moment that you have to fail in order to learn what perfection really is. My biggest improvements have come after I failed.”

By Minnesota Hockey - Skating has always been a critical skill in hockey, but with the game getting faster and faster at every level, it’s arguably becoming even more important.

For USA Hockey ADM Regional Manager Dan Jablonic, it is clear coaches have been evolving to keep up and are taking advantage of new coaching methods to teach skating skills and how to apply them to the game.

By Greg Bates – USA Hockey has solid relationships with a number of European countries, including Sweden. Recently, USA Hockey representatives — ADM Regional Manager Dan Jablonic being one of them — were on a call with some Swedish hockey representatives. The Swedes mentioned they get their players on the ice an average of six to seven times per week. When asked how many times the Swedish skaters have off-ice practices each week, they stated that every on-ice practice is matched by one off-ice practice. The USA Hockey officials were blown away by the fact that the Swedish players are getting up to 14 hockey-related sessions per week.