IHM News Feed

Robert Gertsen steps down as Rungsted director

By IceHockeyMan Editorial Team | Published:

Story Summary

Rungsted director Robert Gertsen has resigned from his position with the Metal Ligaen club.

Rungsted Ishockey ApS said Gertsen will continue in the role throughout his notice period and assist with an orderly handover of the club’s affairs. The club’s shareholders will now focus on maintaining continuity in daily operations and creating the best possible basis for Rungsted’s further development.

The future structure of Rungsted’s leadership will be communicated at a later stage. Gertsen’s exit is the third departure involving a director among the nine clubs in Denmark’s top league only months into the season.

Key Facts

  • Rungsted director Robert Gertsen has chosen to resign from his role.
  • Gertsen will remain in post during his notice period.
  • He will assist with an orderly handover of Rungsted’s affairs.
  • Rungsted’s shareholders said their immediate focus is continuity in the club’s daily operations.
  • The club will provide a later update on the future organisation of its leadership.
  • Gertsen is the third director to leave a role among the nine Metal Ligaen clubs only months into the season.

IHM Discussion

The immediate message from Rungsted is one of continuity rather than a completed leadership change. Keeping Robert Gertsen in place during his notice period gives the club a stated handover process while its shareholders consider the next leadership structure.

There is no successor named and no timetable for a replacement. That leaves the present arrangement centred on maintaining day-to-day operations until Rungsted outlines its longer-term organisation.

Why It Matters

A director’s departure affects the club’s administrative leadership at a point when Rungsted is still in the early part of the Metal Ligaen season. The shareholders have explicitly identified operational continuity as their priority, while the future management set-up remains to be announced.

Mini Q&A

Why is Robert Gertsen leaving Rungsted?

Rungsted stated that Gertsen chose to resign from his position as director.

Will Robert Gertsen leave immediately?

No. He will continue in the role during his notice period and assist with the handover.

Has Rungsted named a new director?

No. The club said it will provide information on the future leadership organisation later.

What Comes Next

Rungsted has said it will later update on the future organisation of the club’s leadership. Until then, Gertsen remains director during his notice period and is due to support the handover.

IHM Academy – Lesson #431: Training Skills Below the Goal Line

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #431: Training Skills Below the Goal Line

Direct answer: Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

The first action succeeds but the player pauses before the next one. The coach adds a scan before reception and requires an immediate second action so technical execution becomes connected to decision speed.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

From Stable Technique to Adaptive Skill

Early learning benefits from enough stability for the player to understand the movement. As control improves, the practice should change angles, speeds, puck positions and decision cues so the player learns what parts of the technique must remain stable and what parts can adapt.

Difficulty should rise for a reason. The player should know what hockey problem the new variable represents. Random complexity without a development objective creates noise rather than learning.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Create two plausible solutions and reveal the correct one through a defender or teammate cue. The player must scan, decide and execute rather than follow a memorised route.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Training Skills Below the Goal Line is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

IHM Academy – Lesson #430: Training Skills Near the Boards

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #430: Training Skills Near the Boards

Direct answer: Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

A player executes perfectly in a line drill but loses the skill when a defender closes. The next progression adds controlled pressure from the same direction until the technique survives, then allows the defender to make live choices.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

From Stable Technique to Adaptive Skill

Early learning benefits from enough stability for the player to understand the movement. As control improves, the practice should change angles, speeds, puck positions and decision cues so the player learns what parts of the technique must remain stable and what parts can adapt.

Difficulty should rise for a reason. The player should know what hockey problem the new variable represents. Random complexity without a development objective creates noise rather than learning.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Use three layers: technique, decision and game. Progress when the player can keep the target skill stable under the current demand, not after an arbitrary repetition count.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Training Skills Near the Boards is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

IHM Academy – Lesson #429: Training Skills at Realistic Entry Speed

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #429: Training Skills at Realistic Entry Speed

Direct answer: Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

A skill appears in practice but disappears in games. Video shows that the player never recognises the cue early enough under live pressure, so training shifts toward scanning and decision recognition rather than more isolated mechanics.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

From Stable Technique to Adaptive Skill

Early learning benefits from enough stability for the player to understand the movement. As control improves, the practice should change angles, speeds, puck positions and decision cues so the player learns what parts of the technique must remain stable and what parts can adapt.

Difficulty should rise for a reason. The player should know what hockey problem the new variable represents. Random complexity without a development objective creates noise rather than learning.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Begin with a stable technical repetition, add one live cue, then add a defender or time constraint. Finish with a small-area game in which the skill can emerge naturally.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Training Skills at Realistic Entry Speed is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Training the skill in the movement, fatigue and spatial context where it must work in games. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

Report: Jokipakka accepts lower-value Tappara deal

By IceHockeyMan Editorial Team | Published:

Story Summary

Tappara defenceman Jyrki Jokipakka has reportedly accepted a contract below his market value to remain with the Liiga club. The 35-year-old’s newly announced two-year extension is said to pay €170,000 per season from next season, with performance bonuses also included.

Esko Seppänen said Jokipakka negotiated only with Tappara and did not test the wider market. Seppänen attributed the reported discount to the player’s desire to continue playing for Tappara and live in Tampere.

Jokipakka was among Liiga’s leading defencemen last season, recording 13 goals and 31 assists in 67 combined regular-season and play-off appearances. He has one goal and two assists through seven games this season.

Key Facts

  • Jyrki Jokipakka’s reported two-year Tappara extension was announced on Friday.
  • The deal is reportedly worth €170,000 per season from next season, plus performance bonuses.
  • Esko Seppänen said Jokipakka negotiated exclusively with Tappara rather than inviting offers from other clubs.
  • Seppänen said Jokipakka accepted less than his market value because he wants to play for Tappara and live in Tampere.
  • Jokipakka posted 13 goals and 31 assists in 67 regular-season and play-off games last season.
  • This season, the 35-year-old defenceman has three points, consisting of one goal and two assists, in seven games.

IHM Discussion

The reported terms place the focus on continuity rather than a bidding process. Jokipakka’s production last season was substantial for a defenceman, while his early return of three points in seven games shows that he remains involved offensively this term.

The important qualification is that the financial detail and the account of negotiations are reported rather than confirmed by Tappara in the available information. Still, Seppänen’s account presents the extension as a player-led choice to stay with the club, not the result of competing offers.

Why It Matters

Keeping Jokipakka on a two-year agreement would give Tappara continuity around a defenceman who delivered 44 points across last season’s regular season and play-offs. The reported salary structure also includes performance bonuses, linking part of his earnings to future results.

IHM Academy – Lesson #428: Training Puck Skills With the Head Up

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #428: Training Puck Skills With the Head Up

Direct answer: Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

A player makes errors only late in the sequence. The coach checks fatigue, information load and approach speed before deciding that the technique itself needs rebuilding.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

Using Constraints Without Scripting

A useful constraint changes which behaviour becomes valuable while leaving the player freedom to solve the problem. Touch limits can encourage earlier scanning, reduced space can demand faster puck protection and bonus scoring zones can reward weak-side movement.

The constraint should not become the main skill. If players spend more attention remembering an artificial rule than reading the game, simplify it. The best constraint quietly shapes behaviour while the game remains recognisable.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Create two plausible solutions and reveal the correct one through a defender or teammate cue. The player must scan, decide and execute rather than follow a memorised route.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Training Puck Skills With the Head Up is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

Joel Lassinantti leads SHL team of the week

By IceHockeyMan Editorial Team | Published:

Story Summary

Joel Lassinantti has been named in the latest SHL team of the week after a sharp turnaround in net for Luleå. The goaltender entered a 6-1 defeat and stopped all three shots he faced, before recording 31 saves in a 2-0 victory and allowing one goal on 22 shots in a 4-1 win.

The selection also recognises Skellefteå defenceman Pontus Johansson, Färjestad defenceman Adam Ollas Mattsson and Björklöven forward Marcus Nilsson. Johansson posted three points in three matches and was on the ice for four goals scored and one conceded. Ollas Mattsson scored a notable goal and was not on the ice for a goal against across roughly 41 minutes in two games.

Nilsson supplied four assists in three matches for Björklöven. The forward, known as “Lilliz”, has continued to produce following the club’s move into the SHL, with his power-play work again a prominent feature.

Key Facts

  • Joel Lassinantti stopped all three shots faced after entering Luleå’s 6-1 defeat.
  • Lassinantti made 31 saves in a 2-0 Luleå win and stopped 22 shots in a 4-1 victory, conceding once.
  • Pontus Johansson recorded three points in three matches for Skellefteå and was on the ice for four goals for and one against.
  • Adam Ollas Mattsson scored during Färjestad’s two-game week and was not on the ice for a goal against in approximately 41 minutes.
  • Marcus Nilsson produced four assists in three matches for Björklöven.
  • Nilsson has previously won the SHL scoring title once, the HockeyAllsvenskan assists title twice and the SHL assists title once.

IHM Discussion

Lassinantti’s inclusion follows a particularly efficient three-game spell. His relief appearance in the 6-1 loss was brief, but the two subsequent starts supplied the heavier evidence: 31 saves in the shutout and 22 saves in the 4-1 victory. That is the kind of sequence that gives a side stability after an uncertain opening spell in goal.

Johansson’s case is built on impact at both ends. Three points in three matches is productive from the blue line, while the four-for, one-against on-ice split underlines the positive balance described in his recent play. Ollas Mattsson’s week was different in style but similarly valuable: a goal, no goals against during his ice time, and a role in a more compact Färjestad approach.

For Björklöven, Nilsson’s four assists again point to his ability to make a difference with the man advantage. His past league-leading production provides context, but the immediate contribution is the four assists delivered across the week’s three games.

Why It Matters

The weekly group brings together different forms of influence: Lassinantti’s saves, Johansson’s two-way output, Ollas Mattsson’s defensive clean sheet while on the ice, and Nilsson’s playmaking. For Luleå in particular, dependable goaltending remains significant after the club’s difficult early returns in that area. Björklöven’s ability to receive production from established skill players is also helping the newcomer stay near the top of the table.

Mini Q&A

Why was Joel Lassinantti selected?

He stopped all three shots in relief during a 6-1 loss, then made 31 saves in a 2-0 win and 22 saves in a 4-1 victory for Luleå.

Which Björklöven player made the weekly selection?

Marcus Nilsson earned the forward spot after registering four assists in three matches.

Coach Mark Comment

The most encouraging detail is not simply Lassinantti’s save total but the progression within the week. A short relief outing was followed by two substantial performances, including a shutout. For a team seeking greater security in goal, that sequence offers a more useful platform than one isolated strong night.

Nilsson’s output also reflects the value of a specialist distributor on the power play. Four assists in three games show that Björklöven have been able to turn possession into direct scoring opportunities.

IHM Final View

Lassinantti is the standout name in a selection shaped by clear, measurable weekly contributions. Johansson and Ollas Mattsson gave their clubs reliable blue-line work in contrasting ways, while Nilsson’s four assists reinforced the quality he can bring to Björklöven’s attack.

IHM Academy – Lesson #427: Training With Limited Vision

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #427: Training With Limited Vision

Direct answer: Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

The repetition becomes easy and success rises automatically. Instead of adding more identical reps, the coach changes angle, speed or opponent behaviour while keeping the same game objective.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

Using Constraints Without Scripting

A useful constraint changes which behaviour becomes valuable while leaving the player freedom to solve the problem. Touch limits can encourage earlier scanning, reduced space can demand faster puck protection and bonus scoring zones can reward weak-side movement.

The constraint should not become the main skill. If players spend more attention remembering an artificial rule than reading the game, simplify it. The best constraint quietly shapes behaviour while the game remains recognisable.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Use three layers: technique, decision and game. Progress when the player can keep the target skill stable under the current demand, not after an arbitrary repetition count.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Training With Limited Vision is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

IHM Academy – Lesson #426: Using Time Limits to Improve Processing Speed

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #426: Using Time Limits to Improve Processing Speed

Direct answer: Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

The first action succeeds but the player pauses before the next one. The coach adds a scan before reception and requires an immediate second action so technical execution becomes connected to decision speed.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

Using Constraints Without Scripting

A useful constraint changes which behaviour becomes valuable while leaving the player freedom to solve the problem. Touch limits can encourage earlier scanning, reduced space can demand faster puck protection and bonus scoring zones can reward weak-side movement.

The constraint should not become the main skill. If players spend more attention remembering an artificial rule than reading the game, simplify it. The best constraint quietly shapes behaviour while the game remains recognisable.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Begin with a stable technical repetition, add one live cue, then add a defender or time constraint. Finish with a small-area game in which the skill can emerge naturally.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Using Time Limits to Improve Processing Speed is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.

IHM Academy – Lesson #425: Using Touch Limits to Improve Puck Speed

By Coach Mark Lehtonen | 4 October 2026

IHM Academy – Lesson #425: Using Touch Limits to Improve Puck Speed

Direct answer: Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Hockey skill is learned when technique becomes stable enough to survive changing information, opponent pressure, time, space and fatigue.

What This Concept Means

Practice should move from understanding the movement toward solving the real hockey problem. A clean repetition in a predictable drill proves that the player can perform the action. It does not yet prove that the player can recognise when and how to use it in a game.

The objective is not maximum difficulty at all times. It is the correct difficulty at the correct stage.

Technique, Game Skill and Transfer

Technique

Technique is the physical execution: skating edge, pass, shot, first touch, puck move or defensive footwork.

Game skill

Game skill adds perception and decision. The player must recognise the cue, choose an action and execute under pressure.

Transfer

Transfer is the ability to use the skill successfully in a match without the drill telling the player the answer.

The Learning Progression

  1. Define the game outcome. Know what the skill should accomplish.
  2. Build the basic movement. Remove unnecessary complexity.
  3. Add variability. Change angle, distance, speed or puck position.
  4. Add information. Require scanning or a live cue.
  5. Add pressure. Use defender, time, space or fatigue constraints.
  6. Add consequence. Connect the action to a pass, shot, transition or battle.
  7. Test in game-like play. Remove the prescribed answer.

Repetition: Useful but Not Sufficient

Repetition builds coordination and confidence. Early in learning, repeated attempts help the player understand what the movement feels like and reduce unnecessary variation.

But once the task becomes automatic, identical repetitions can produce drill mastery rather than game adaptability. The player needs controlled variation and meaningful decisions.

Blocked, Variable and Random Practice

Blocked practice repeats the same action and is useful for introducing or stabilising technique. Variable practice changes one or more conditions while preserving the skill objective.

Random practice mixes solutions so the player must recognise what to do each time. It often looks less clean, yet the additional retrieval and decision demand can improve long-term transfer.

Game Situation

A player executes perfectly in a line drill but loses the skill when a defender closes. The next progression adds controlled pressure from the same direction until the technique survives, then allows the defender to make live choices.

Decision Pressure

Decision pressure means the player chooses between real alternatives. The cue should come from hockey information: defender stick, teammate route, pressure direction, available space or possession quality.

A fake choice teaches little. If only one option is ever rewarded, the player learns the drill rather than the game.

Time Pressure

Time can be reduced by increasing defender speed, shortening possession windows or requiring an immediate second action. The goal is not random rushing. The player should learn which part of the skill can become faster without losing the core mechanic.

Space Pressure

Smaller space increases the need for scanning, body orientation, puck protection and quicker decisions. Space should still allow multiple solutions so the player remains responsible for choosing.

Adding Defenders

A defender changes the environment because another human can alter the picture late. Start with controlled pressure if necessary, then allow the defender to make genuine choices.

Artificial defending creates artificial attacking habits. The defender should eventually be allowed to win.

Scanning and Information

Many practice skills disappear in matches because the player never trained the information that comes before execution. Shoulder checks, teammate calls and live opponent movement should influence what the player does next.

Scanning is useful only when the information changes behaviour.

Using Constraints Without Scripting

A useful constraint changes which behaviour becomes valuable while leaving the player freedom to solve the problem. Touch limits can encourage earlier scanning, reduced space can demand faster puck protection and bonus scoring zones can reward weak-side movement.

The constraint should not become the main skill. If players spend more attention remembering an artificial rule than reading the game, simplify it. The best constraint quietly shapes behaviour while the game remains recognisable.

First Touch and Second Action

Game skill rarely ends with initial control. A reception leads to a pass, shot, carry, protection move or transition. Training should connect these actions instead of stopping after the first successful touch.

The second action reveals whether the first touch was truly useful.

Constraint-Based Training

Constraints can shape behaviour without prescribing every movement. Reduced space, touch limits, scoring bonuses or directional rules can make a target behaviour more valuable.

Use the minimum constraint needed. Too many rules make players think about the exercise instead of the hockey problem.

Common Mistakes

  • Keeping the drill predictable too long.
  • Adding several new difficulties at once.
  • Judging progress only by drill completion.
  • Using passive defenders forever.
  • Stopping the repetition after the first action.
  • Confusing fatigue failure with technical failure.

Coach Mark Teaching Cues

  • “Technique first, transfer next.”
  • “Add one problem at a time.”
  • “The cue must change the decision.”
  • “Skill ends with the next action.”
  • “Do not become a drill expert.”

How to Practise It Without a Tactical Board

Create two plausible solutions and reveal the correct one through a defender or teammate cue. The player must scan, decide and execute rather than follow a memorised route.

Use rink landmarks, live defenders and clear constraints. The coach should be able to explain the problem being trained in one sentence.

Game-Speed Application

Game speed is not simply maximum movement speed. It is executing at the pace required by the situation while preserving control and information.

Train from realistic approach speed, with realistic pressure direction and an immediate next action. If the skill fails, reduce only the element causing the failure and rebuild.

The player should finish the progression in an environment where the skill is available but not mandatory. Choosing it at the correct time is part of mastery.

Skill Failure vs Decision Failure

A poor outcome can have several causes. The player may choose the wrong option but execute it well, choose the correct option but technically fail, or scan too late and never have a real choice.

Each cause needs a different correction. Repeating technique cannot fix a perception problem.

Feedback and Self-Correction

Feedback should identify the specific element that changed the outcome: body orientation, timing, target, speed, scan, decision or execution.

Too much feedback creates dependency. Players need chances to describe what they saw and make the next adjustment themselves.

Video and Review

Video can reveal that a visible technical error began earlier. A poor pass may start with late scanning; a failed 1-on-1 may start with a predictable approach.

Review short clips with one development question at a time. The purpose is to improve the next repetition, not collect footage.

How to Measure Transfer

Measure whether the player uses the skill naturally in game-like play, whether execution survives pressure and whether the action leads to a useful next play.

Simple observation is enough if the same criteria are used consistently across training and games.

Advanced Game-Transfer Progression

  1. Perform the technique in a stable environment.
  2. Change angle, distance or speed.
  3. Add a scan before execution.
  4. Add a live defender or opponent cue.
  5. Add time or space pressure.
  6. Add an immediate second action.
  7. Add fatigue or contact where relevant.
  8. Test the skill in a small-area game with multiple solutions.

AEO-Ready Development Summary

Using Touch Limits to Improve Puck Speed is effective when practice develops not only the movement but the ability to recognise when and how to use it. Game transfer improves when technique is progressively exposed to realistic information, pressure and consequence.

Why This Matters in Modern Hockey

Modern hockey demands skills that work under uncertainty. Players who look excellent in isolated drills can struggle when they must scan, decide and execute simultaneously.

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. The purpose of practice is not to reproduce practice; it is to change what the player can do in the game.

FAQ

What is the difference between technique and game skill?

Technique is the movement itself. Game skill adds perception, decision and execution under realistic conditions.

Is repetition still important?

Yes. Repetition helps build consistency, especially early in learning. It should later become more variable and decision-rich.

When should defenders be added?

Once the player understands the movement well enough that pressure can be added without completely destroying the technique.

Why do some skills disappear in games?

Because they were practised without the speed, information, pressure or decision demands that exist in matches.

How should coaches measure skill transfer?

Observe whether the player uses the skill naturally and whether execution remains useful under realistic pressure.

Key Takeaway

Using carefully chosen constraints to encourage a useful hockey behaviour without scripting the player’s answer. Skill development becomes complete when the player can recognise, choose and execute the skill without the drill telling him what to do.