Evaluations Guide for Players and Evaluators

All drills are designed to show right and left sides. Skaters are instructed to face a certain direction when they need to turn, stop, etc. A player can be assumed to not have the appropriate skill if they do not do the drill correctly, therefore not exhibiting the skill being evaluated. All skills are rated in relation to the established middle level players on the ice.

BLUE PLACEMENT CRITERIA >
Sample Evaluation Form >

The drills will be run in the following order. You will see the drill name, followed by what skills you might be looking for in bold. A more in depth look to help with the scoring follows the skills.

All skaters are given 5 minutes to warm-up. This is not to be evaluated. Hopefuls will then be asked to line up so evaluators can find their players. All skaters will then be allowed to skate a lap. This lap is not to be evaluated and is for warm-up purposes only.

Blue Division Placement Drills

Transition Drill: with puck, start forward, transition at blue line/red line/blue line
  • Forward and backwards skating, transitions, edge control, puck control, balance.
  • Skater should be able to transition from forward to backward skating and backward to forward skating while maintaining speed. A score of 3 or above requires that the player can transition smoothly and balanced while maintaining speed. A player that needs to stop or slow significantly in order to transition from one direction to the other shall be evaluated as being deficient — a 2 or 1.
Speed Drill: with puck, as fast as possible forward, stop on far goal line
  • Forward skating, balance, speed, puck control.
  • Compare to other skaters in the line. 5 — faster than the other people in the line. 3 — matches the middle level skaters in their line. 1 — slower than the other middle level skaters in their line.
Ladder Drill: with puck
  • Forward skating, stops and starts, edge-control, puck control, balance.
  • Player must stop. Not making a complete stop is not exhibiting the skill. A turn does not count as a stop. There are multiple ways to stop, so be aware that the drill evaluates the ability to stop, not how they stop. Secondary to stopping is where they fit in with your benchmarks. A person who finishes the drill fastest, but does not do complete stops should be evaluated closer to a 2 than a 4 or 5.
Forward Crossovers: with puck, full circles
  • Forward skating, edge control, crossovers, puck control, balance.
  • This drill evaluates how well the skater can do crossovers, not how fast they can skate around the circle. Watch that the skater is actually crossing over and not just pushing like a scooter around the circles. A player who passes people, but is not doing a crossover should be evaluated closer to a 2 than a 4 or 5.
Clock Drill: without puck, full circles
  • Forward and backwards skating, transitions, edge control, balance.
  • Skater should be able to transition from forward to backward skating and backward to forward skating while maintaining speed. A score of 3 or above requires that the player can transition smoothly and balanced while maintaining speed. A player that needs to stop or slow significantly in order to transition from one direction to the other shall be evaluated as being deficient — a 2 or 1. A player that gets passed by mid-level benchmarks shall be graded as below benchmark. A player that passes mid-level benchmarks can be scored as higher than benchmark.
Backwards Crossovers: without puck, half circles
  • Backward skating, edge control, crossovers, balance.
  • Similar to forward crossovers, make sure that the skater is truly crossing over and not just coming close. Evaluating the crossover is the most important part of this evaluation. If they can skate fast, but are not crossing over, the score should be no higher than a 2.
Slalom Drill: with puck, shoot from top of circle, show all shots you have
  • Forward skating, edge control, puck control, shooting, awareness.
  • You are evaluating both the skater’s ability to skate through the cones with speed while controlling the puck and how well they shoot on the goalie. For skating through the cones, watch that the player maintains control of the puck while going around the cones. Also watch if the player can maintain speed as they go around the cones. If they have to slow down considerably in order to maintain control of the puck should result in a lower score. (Unless that matches the benchmarks for the given level.) For shooting, look for accuracy and speed/power and variety of shots. A blue skater should have at least 4 different shots (backhand, slap, snap, wrist, one-time and deke shot).
Give & Go Drill: shoot from top of circle, show all shots you have
  • Forward skating, puck control, giving and receiving passes, shooting.
  • Look for the player’s ability to pass and receive the puck while moving. The passing should be level appropriate. Red level passing is more apt to be slower, Blue faster. A player who passes the puck accurately, but is very slow may be given a lower score depending on the benchmarks. Focus should be on the passing being to the stick to the player they are passing to, and how well they can receive a puck, maintaining control and continuing to skate while receiving the puck. Can they adjust to a bad pass?
Horseshoe Drill: show all shots you have
  • Forward skating, puck control, giving and receiving passes, shooting.
  • This drill evaluates the skater’s ability to pass the puck, receive the puck and take a shot. Look for a pass that is to the players stick with speed and accuracy. A pass that is just thrown to an area at a slow speed is not as good as a pass that is sent with some speed directed to the other player’s stick. On the receiving end, is the player able to catch the pass and maintain control? Can they adjust to a pass that isn’t quite on line? How is their shot? Is it hard and accurate? Can they demonstrate more than one shot?
Scrimmage: hopefuls choose forward or defense
  • Forward skating, puck control, giving and receiving passes, shooting.
  • The scrimmage is designed to evaluate all of the skills that were evaluated earlier, but in a different setting. Be aware that some people drill very well, but those skills may not transfer in a game situation. The reverse may also be true, so be sure to pay attention to your player in both situations. Are they still doing crossovers, or can they all of a sudden do crossovers? During the game, there are many things you should be watching. Shift length: too long or too short may show a lack of understanding of how lines work, or may show someone not able to keep up with the level of play. Game play: Is the player able to make a play to their teammate? Just because a player can make a safe play like throwing the puck up the boards and out of the zone from the D zone, doesn’t mean that they made the best play. If they had two players on their own team open but didn’t see them to make a pass, it might indicate that they are not at the appropriate level. Does the player ice the puck when unnecessary? Can they keep up with the play or are they always hanging back, coming in late to the play? Do they forecheck and backcheck? Do they skate with their head up and are aware of the other players around them? Can they make a pass to an open player?