Positional and Game Play

The game of hockey is played in your head and heart as well as on the ice. You don’t have time to decide what you should do and where you should move in an instant as a play takes shape. Learn the skill of anticipating where to move when you are on the ice in an offensive and defensive position. Work on both your individual skills and your game playing strategy! The Program Highlights below will illustrate the skills you will concentrate on as a forward or defenseman.

Program Highlights

Boarding and Day options. Ages 8-17. Distinct age groupings.

On-Ice Instruction

• 17 hours of quality on ice instruction with targeted training beginning Sunday evening and ending Saturday morning.
  • Sunday evening skate & evaluation introduces you to the CAN/AM way and gives instructors their first chance to evaluate players.
  • Monday-Friday: players will have two 1 ½ hour sessions daily, each with specific skills and goals.
  • Saturday session serves as a recap from the week and a chance to display enhanced skills during a final scrimmage.

• Personalized and individualized 5:1 player to instructor teaching ratio.

• Daily power skating sessions with a specialized power skating instructor to enhance stride strength, balance, speed, and agility.

• Daily specialized instruction on:
  • Stickhandling: Develop puckhandling skills in tight areas and in the open ice.
  • Passing: Improve your awareness as to where your teammates are at all times.  Learn to execute pinpoint passes both on the forehand and backhand.
  • Coverage: Learn how to cover your “area” as well as your “man” in all 3 zones (defensive, neutral, offensive).
  • Time and Space: Learn when to “go” and when to “slow down” with and without the puck in game situations (special teams, odd-man rushes, even strength)
  • Gap Control: Forwards will learn the importance of attacking the opposing defenseman and getting them on their heels.  Defensemen will learn to keep their “gap” with the attacking forward in defending the prime scoring areas on the ice.

• Learning proper body contact: When to use the body, “shadowing”, controlling the slot area and use of angles. (body contact will be taught in a controlled environment at an age appropriate level)

• Testing for skating speed, shot power, and shot accuracy.

• Instructional scrimmages for application and enhancement of shooting, skating and passing skills. Coaches will give feedback on the ice and on the bench.

• Personal video analysis of your individual style and skills – a CAN/AM coach gives you specific input and skill development tips using video feedback.

While individual skills such as skating, shooting, stickhandling, and passing will be instructed on a daily basis, the focal point of this program is to execute these individual skills in game like situations.  In addition to working those fundamentals, expect the following positional instruction:

Forward Instruction

• Centre/Winger strategy in the defensive, neutral and offensive zones, including transitional play
• Shooting/Scoring – wrist, snap, backhand, slap shot and deking...PLUS…when to use them
• Communicating with your linemates, goaltender, and defensemen
• Learn when and how to properly block shots
• Puck Control – playmaking, passing, puck protection and cycling the puck
• Specialty Team Play – powerplay, penalty killing, 4 on 4, 3 on 3 , odd-man rushes
• Daily instructional scrimmages reinforcing the role of the forward
• Off-ice forward training

Defenseman Instruction

• Playing in the defensive, neutral and offensive zones, including transitional play
• Gap control, body and stick and angling, and defending the net area
• Shooting/Scoring – emphasis on shots from the point, one-timers, and shots to create deflections and rebounds
• Communicating with your defensive partner, goaltender, and other teammates
• Puckhandling, playmaking, passing, quarterbacking the play
• Specialty Team Play – powerplay, penalty killing, 4 on 4, 3 on 3 ,odd-man rushes
• Daily instructional scrimmages reinforcing the role of the defensemen
• Off-ice defenseman training

Off-Ice Instruction

• 3-4 hours of targeted off-ice hockey training daily including the following components:

• Foot Speed, Agility Training & Flexibility:
  • Agility stations including ladder drills, Gorilla steps, Dot Drill mats, Power Slide boards, core strengthening via medicine balls and resistance bands, balance and flexibility training.

• Shooting Gallery:
  • Improve your shooting accuracy off-ice with the Top Shot, interactive indoor shooting gallery.
  • Increase shooting power with proper technique and repetition at our outdoor shooting gallery.

• Techniques & Tactics:
  • Designed to introduce and reinforce concepts used during situational and positional play on-ice.  By introducing these physical elements off-ice, we can help skaters focus on the mental and physical skills involved without having to worry about on-ice distractions. This leads skaters to a much greater understanding of the skill or concept in question.

• Team Challenge:
  • Learning of what "TEAM" means is an important part of developing hockey players. You will learn the importance of such critical hockey team skills as desire, cooperation, trust, motivation and just plain hard work towards a common goal. This program is under the supervision of our special Team Challenge staff and instruction is geared towards safety as a priority.

• Interactive lectures focusing on your position and your questions. Topics covered:
  • Review and critique of professional situations and breakdowns resulting in goals.
  • Responsibilities of forwards & defensemen (Defensive, Neutral, and Offensive zones).
  • Understand breakaway concepts and techniques. Know what to do when a goalie comes out from his net, how slowly or quickly to approach, what visual cues to look for and what final move to make.
  • Detailed walkthroughs for: Breakouts, attacking the zone (triangle and cycling), face off positioning, and special teams.
  • Understanding different goaltending styles and taking advantage of their weaknesses.
  • Pre-game preparation & in-game focus.
  • Learning from and bouncing back from a bad game.
  • Hockey and higher education.

• Fitness Testing for flexibility, sprinting, endurance, and power.
  • See how you measure up against hockey players of your age.

• Recreation:
  • Although hockey, both on and off the ice, is the focus at Camp, there are times set aside for recreation in order to relax, have fun and take a break from the concentrated hockey program.

Additional Package Details:

• 7 days 6 nights accommodations.


• Sunday camp registration 1:30pm-3:30pm and Opening Ceremonies.


• Sunday team dinner.


• Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner Monday-Friday.


• Breakfast Saturday morning.


• Olympic Center Guided Tour: How Lake Placid got the Olympic bid and the importance of the Miracle on Ice.


• Friday Evening closing activities.


• Saturday late morning closing remarks, Awards Ceremonies, and check-out.


• CAN/AM camp souvenir.


• Official CAN/AM Camp jersey.


• Personal Scouting Report: Detailed end of week evaluation including coaches’ assessment based on your on-ice and off-ice progression and testing results.


• Training workbook to supplement your on-ice training and to guide you through on and off-ice workouts for the upcoming season.