How Can Inline Hockey Improve Your Ice Skills?



Did you know that cross training can help your overall hockey performance?  Play inline hockey and improve yourself in the following areas:

  • Puck Handling Skills
  • Endurance
  • Puck Possession & Movement
  • Vision of the Game
  • Skating – Speed, Balance, Agility & Crossovers
  • Shooting Accuracy

Ice hockey is all about speed and power, while inline hockey is about puck possession.  With more open rink, and no offsides, players have the ability to move the puck around until they feel they have a high percentage shot.  Skaters have more room to maneuver and games are typically faster-paced and higher-scoring, while still retaining many of the same skills and strategies as ice hockey.   All of this adds up to a game focused more on skill and speed and less on strength and intimidation.

Some NHL Players That Have Played Inline Hockey:

Paul Stastny
Bobby Ryan
James Wisniewski
Sam Gagner
Bobby Ryan Inline Hockey
Bobby Ryan
(Anaheim Ducks)
Ales Hemsky
TJ Oshie
Ryan Kesler
Luc Robitaille
Gilbert Brule
David Booth
David Perron
Mike Ribeiro
Jason Chimera
Anson Carter
Milan Hejduk
Eric Lindros
Alexandre Burrows
Devin Steoguchi
Eric Messier
Brad Boyes
Patrick Maroon
Cory Conacher
Joel Ward

Goalies:
Rick DiPietro
Roberto Luongo
Manny Legace
Dominik Hasek
Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Niemi

AND MORE...


Inline Players in NHL

James Wisniewski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
David Booth (Vancouver Canucks)
Ryan Kesler (Vancouver Canucks)


Playing both inline & ice hockey benefits overall athletic ability by:

  • forcing players to learn and adapt their skills acquired in both
  • allowing players to stay in hockey shape year round
  • helping players sharpen valuable & transferrable fundamentals
  • improving players' confidence, creativity, and patience
  • encouraging teamwork and knowing your role

Henrik Lundqvist
(Won a gold medal with
Sweden at the 2002 I.I.H.F.
Inline World Championship)
In the words of an NHL player..

"Roller hockey was my main sport until I was 14 or 15, and then I made the switch over full-time [to ice]. Roller hockey actually helped me so much with my vision and passing. It's such a passing game; you don't really get many open shots, so usually all the plays you see in roller hockey are tic-tac-toe. You're always trying to find the open man. I think roller hockey helped me translate my pass-first game over to ice."
Beau Bennet
First-round pick of the Penguins in 2010
NHL Article