Wall Mastery Drill: Perfecting Rimmed Puck Pick-Ups and Cutbacks to Dictate the Play

Rimmed Puck Pick-Up and Cutback Drill Overview

From: Original drill posted by VT Hockey Development, additional analysis and commentary by Brandon Rubeo of Quest Hockey

Picking pucks up and off the wall is crucial to gain possession, whether to create scoring opportunities in the offensive zone or to initiate the breakout or simply get the puck out of the defensive zone.
Effective puck protection maintains puck possession, empowering you to dictate the next play.
Cut backs with a puck help you quickly change direction of the play, and done effectively, helps you establish time and space from the nearest defender.

*Full drill description, tips, and optional variations below the video.

Have the forward begin below the goal line along the wall with the defender lined up roughly 5 feet behind them.

Coach will rim a puck down the wall for the forward to pick up and briefly continue skating up the wall before cutting back and attacking the net.

The defender, in this example, is instructed to allow the forward to pick up the puck and apply soft pressure before the forward cuts back.

In order to pick the puck up clean, it’s crucial to have your top hand up and in front of your bottom hand in order to get your blade perpendicular to the boards and the toe of your blade down on the ice.
Establish a gap between your body and the boards for two main reasons:
- You don’t ‘handcuff’ yourself by being against the boards, making it awkward to establish effective stick and blade positioning.
- You’ve already pre-built an escape route, more below.
Once you pick the puck up and off the wall:
- Lean towards the middle of the ice, particularly with your shoulder, hip, and knee closest to your opponent, while maintaining puck possession towards the wall to protect the puck from the defender.
- Skate up the wall and towards the middle of the ice to establish a larger escape route to cut back and to the net.

Close the gap between the forward and defender to begin the drill and/or allow the defender to interrupt the wall pick-up.
Have the defender play game-like defense as soon as the puck is rimmed or the forward gains puck possession.
Add a 2nd forward for the 1st forward to pass to, whether in the high slot, across the ice on the inside hash marks, or streaking towards (or waiting at) the back door.
Add a 2nd forward and a 2nd defenseman to create a 2-on-2 scenario.
Have the forward pick up a rimmed puck behind the net, in the corner, or higher in the slot to practice these skills in different areas of the ice.