How to Improve Your Speed on the Ice: Tips for Youth Hockey Players
Speed can change everything in hockey.
A faster player can win a race to a loose puck, create separation from a defender, close a gap before an opponent can make a play, and turn a small opening into a scoring opportunity.
But improving your skating speed is about much more than simply trying to move your legs faster.
The fastest hockey players combine good skating technique, powerful strides, strong edges, explosive acceleration, balance, and efficient movement. For young players, developing those skills correctly can make a major difference in how fast they are able to play.
Here are some of the most important areas hockey players should focus on when trying to become faster on the ice.
1. Improve Your Skating Technique
Before worrying about how quickly you can move your feet, make sure your stride is efficient.
A player with poor mechanics may take a lot of strides without generating much speed. A technically sound skater can create more power with each push while wasting less energy.
Players should work on:
Getting into a strong knee bend
Maintaining proper body posture
Fully extending through each stride
Recovering the skate efficiently underneath the body
Keeping the upper body controlled
Developing a powerful push through the edges
The goal isn't simply to take more strides.
The goal is to get more out of every stride.
This is one reason skating-specific training can be extremely valuable. Cutting Edge Ice Academy's skating staff includes Coach Elene Gedevanishvili, a three-time Olympic figure skater who specializes in skating technique, balance, posture, agility, edge work, and explosiveness.
2. Develop Better Acceleration
In most hockey situations, acceleration is more important than maximum straight-line speed.
Think about how often players actually skate the entire length of the rink at full speed.
Most races happen over relatively short distances.
A winger may need three explosive strides to get past a defenseman. A defenseman may need two quick strides to close a gap. A center may need to explode out of a faceoff to reach a loose puck.
Improving those first few strides can dramatically change a player's effectiveness.
Players should practice:
Explosive starts
Crossover starts
Starts from different body positions
Quick direction changes into acceleration
Accelerating with the puck
Accelerating out of turns
Being able to reach your top speed quickly is one of the most useful skating abilities a hockey player can develop.
3. Master Your Inside and Outside Edges
Speed isn't only about skating straight ahead.
Hockey requires players to constantly turn, cut, stop, crossover, escape pressure, change directions, and accelerate again.
That's where edge control becomes extremely important.
Players who have confidence on both their inside and outside edges can maintain more speed through movements that cause less-developed skaters to slow down.
Strong edge control allows a player to:
Carry more speed through turns
Change direction quickly
Use tighter cuts
Generate power through crossovers
Escape defenders
Maintain balance under pressure
Transition smoothly between movements
A player who constantly loses momentum during turns has to repeatedly rebuild speed.
A player with excellent edge control can preserve that speed.
4. Get Comfortable Skating in a Lower Position
Young players often stand too upright when they skate.
While it may feel more comfortable, an upright skating position makes it difficult to generate maximum power.
Getting lower gives players a stronger base and allows them to push harder into the ice.
That doesn't mean bending forward at the waist.
Players should learn to maintain good posture while creating a deeper bend through the knees and ankles.
Think:
Athletic position + strong knee bend + powerful extension.
Better skating posture can lead to longer, stronger, and more efficient strides.
5. Use Crossovers to Generate Speed
Crossovers aren't only for turning.
When used correctly, they can be a powerful acceleration tool.
Players should become comfortable performing crossovers in both directions and eventually using them during:
Starts
Turns
Puck carries
Offensive zone movement
Defensive gap control
Direction changes
Transition skating
The best players don't separate "straight-line skating" and "turning."
They learn how to generate speed through almost every movement they make.
6. Learn to Maintain Speed With the Puck
There is a major difference between being fast without the puck and being fast with the puck.
Some players dramatically slow down as soon as they begin stickhandling.
That usually happens because too much attention goes toward controlling the puck and their skating mechanics begin to change.
Players should practice moving the puck while maintaining:
Proper knee bend
Full skating strides
Strong crossovers
Heads-up positioning
Controlled puck touches
Eventually, the goal is to make skating and puck handling work together instead of treating them as two separate skills.
Cutting Edge currently offers programming that combines areas such as puck skills, power skating, stickhandling, edge work, and offensive development.
7. Improve Your Explosiveness Off the Ice
On-ice technique is extremely important, but strength and athleticism matter too.
Exercises that develop lower-body power can help players become more explosive skaters.
Depending on a player's age and training experience, useful activities may include:
Short-distance sprints
Jumping exercises
Lateral bounds
Squats
Lunges
Split squats
Core exercises
Single-leg balance exercises
For younger players, the focus should generally remain on quality movement, coordination, balance, and athletic development rather than heavy resistance.
As players mature, properly supervised strength and power training can become an increasingly important part of improving acceleration.
8. Don't Forget About Deceleration
It may sound strange, but learning how to slow down can actually help you play faster.
Players who are confident stopping, cutting, and changing direction can attack situations more aggressively because they know they can control their momentum.
Great hockey skating is not simply:
Go fast.
It's:
Accelerate → control your speed → change direction → accelerate again.
The quicker a player can move between those phases, the faster they will appear during a game.
Speed Is a Skill
Players sometimes assume that speed is something you're either born with or you're not.
Natural athleticism certainly helps, but skating speed can absolutely be developed.
Improving your:
Stride + edges + posture + acceleration + crossovers + strength + puck control
can make you a dramatically faster and more effective hockey player.
And remember that hockey speed isn't measured only by who wins a race from goal line to goal line.
True hockey speed is the ability to accelerate quickly, change directions efficiently, maintain momentum, control the puck at speed, and react faster than the players around you.
Train Your Speed at Cutting Edge Ice Academy
Cutting Edge Ice Academy in Elmwood Park, New Jersey offers skating, puck skills, power skating, edge-work, private training, small-group training, clinics, and camps for players looking to take the next step in their development.
Because clinic schedules and age groups can change throughout the season, families should check the current Cutting Edge Ice Academy schedule or
Cutting Edge app to find the best option for their player's age and skill level. The academy's website notes that the app provides current clinic schedules and registration options.
Better technique creates better movement. Better movement creates more speed. And more speed gives players more opportunities to make an impact every time they step on the ice.
