The Zezel Drill



This is a favourite drill of NHL player Peter Zezel. It's an excellent conditioning drill based on varying intervals of hard skating and rest.
Key point to stress; Perform at full speed, %100 effort for each interval.

Divide the players into two groups, P1 and P2, and position as shown in the diagram. Move the nets closer to the hash marks of the faceoff circles to allow enough room for an entire group to skate behind them.

To start, group P1 skates hard to the closest blueline, stops, then back to their starting position at the goal line. At this point group P2 starts, skates hard to their closest blueline, stops, then back to their starting position at the goal line. Group P1 then leaves again, skates hard to the centerline, stops, then back to their starting point. Again, group P2 does the same thing. Repeat until both groups have skated to each line, indicated by #'s 1 to 7 in the diagram, and back to their respective starting points. Due to limited space, I haven't drawn the complete drill. The groups of players must not leave their starting point until the group before has completed their interval. This allows for a much needed rest between the intervals of hard skating. Have the players do a couple of slow "cooldown" or "recovery" laps immediately following the drill. Do not allow them to sit or lie down. Make sure you follow this drill with something easier, such as shooting practice.

Thanks to Peter for this drill