Training Aids Showdown: The Best Equipment to Improve Your Game

Better your stick handling and shooting in no time with the best hockey training aids on the market!

From simple necessities to new and innovative game changers, these eight products are the best pieces of hockey equipment to have at practice.

So read on to find out all the ways that they can make your hockey training fun, efficient, and versatile!

Stick Handling Hockey Training Aids

1.  Synthetic Ice Tiles

One of the most important parts of at-home training is your ability to replicate the smooth feel of a puck as it glides across the ice.

Without the proper training ground, your stick handling won’t reach the speeds it needs to get you to the competitive level. That’s why the Snipers Edge synthetic ice tiles are the first hockey training aid on this list!

Never worry about bumps and holes in your uneven floors slowing down the puck and keeping you from your stick handling potential.

2. Danglers

Stick handling is just as much about puck control as it is about stick control. And danglers are the perfect hockey training aid for perfecting both!

Danglers come in lots of shapes and sizes, but all are designed to replicate the stick and body of an opponent on the ice.

How to choose the best dangler:

• Make sure you buy something that can be reconfigured in multiple different ways
• You want the height of the bars to be around the average height of a stick blade
• Choose a product that won’t break apart when your stick hits one of the bars

How adding danglers to your training ground will improve your hockey skills:

• Natural feel for the size of your stick’s blade as you’re forced to lift it above obstacles
• Speed of your dribbling
• Increased range of stick control as you run through different courses
  
  

3. Balance Boards

By standing on a balance board while you practice dribbling and other puck control drills, you can double the benefits to your hockey training!

Why are balance boards such versatile hockey training aids?

• The act of balancing works your leg muscles and makes you more agile
• They train your brain to focus on every part of your body as you handle the puck
• They replicate the instability that often comes with a last-minute deke around an opponent
• Balance boards speed up the improvement of hand-eye coordination

Like Danglers there are a couple different types of balance boards. Use these tips to help you decide between a wobble-style and roller-style product:

• Roller style boards offer a wider range of motion
• Wobble style boards can also be used during your fitness training
• The wider base of roller style boards offer more stability from a wider stance
• The instability of the smaller base of a wobble board can train your muscles better
  
  

Shooting Hockey Training Aids

4. Shooter Tutor

The simple addition of a goalie tarp to your hockey net is all you need to perfect your aiming.

The Ultimate Goalie Hockey Shooter Tutor is the perfect tool to help with that!

Why is the goalie tarp so good?

• Strategic aiming points are placed in the most likely places you’ll score a goal
• They’re super durable and portable
• The image of a goalie in net trains the subconscious and prepares you for real game play

Sometimes simple is best, and goalie tarps are proof!

5. Hockey Sauce Kit

When it comes to hockey training aids, the amount of fun that you have using them can be a big factor in how well they improve your skills.

Hockey sauce kits are the best example of how games can easily make hockey training part of your daily routine.

What are hockey sauce kits and how do you use them?

• A target practice game using mini nets
• Often comes with dryland tiles for you to shoot from
• Aim your lobbed shot for the ramp leading up to the slightly raised net
• The nets can be set at any distance away from each other
• The person with the most goals in the end wins

Why are lob passes an important part of your hockey training?

• Allows you to get a pass through obstacles on the ice
• Improves your puck control and shooting ability
• Improves your precision aiming skills

6. Passmaster

If you’re looking for something that can make your skill training even more dynamic, passers are the best pieces of hockey equipment for the job!

To make the best obstacle course for your hockey training, use your passers:

• In front of the net for one-timers
• As you make your way to the goal to add layers to your dribbling
• Around danglers to simulate teamwork during dekes
• In front of the net to simulate a shot that bounces off a skate and into the net
• Stack your passers to simulate hitting the puck off a body or stick in front of the net

Lots of people don’t like passers because they are known for swallowing the pucks instead of bouncing them back. But the need to aim for the dead center of the band is just another way these hockey training aids can improve your game!

Hockey Fitness Training Aids

7. Ladders

For a lot of your hockey conditioning, equipment isn’t necessary. But to really get the most out of your speed and agility training, ladders are essential.

Here are all the ways that ladders make your hockey training better:

• They force you to be more precise with your footwork
• They enhance your focus on your balance as well
• Ladder drills mimic the start and stop nature of ice hockey skating in your muscles
• The repetitive nature of ladder drills improves your muscle memory and makes you faster

Simply doing high knees and lateral drills doesn’t force the same mental focus and awareness of your surroundings that ladder drills do.

When it comes to something as important as your speed and agility training, a ladder is a quick and easy investment that gives you immediate results!

8. Boxes

Only jump boxes will bring the intensity you need to your kinetic chain workouts.

Squats and lunges are still amazing leg exercises but there are some things that only box jumps can do:

• Work the explosive power of the muscles instead of just engaging them
• Engage your calves instead of your abductors
• Activate the fast-twitch muscles fibers in your hips, knees, and ankles

Incorporating this hockey training aid into your hockey conditioning will quickly bring your skating power to the next level!

Become a Pro in No Time With These Hockey Training Aids

With these eight hockey train aids, there won’t be an opponent out there that can beat your pro-level stick handling moves or out pace you in a race for the puck!

The best part of these products is how easily they can be incorporated into our online hockey training drills! So be sure to check out our Elite-weekly training modules!