Why Skating Mechanics Are the Great Separator in Hockey

Good mechanics allow you to generate more speed easier, hold onto the puck with better protection skills, and stay deceptive when trying to deke out opponents. For these reasons elite players like Nathan MacKinnon and Rasmus Dahlin love mechanics like the soft drag because they allow these players to keep their options open increasing the chances for success with every puck possession. Being able to swirve around opponents with this mechanic will set you far apart from the competition.

What Is the Soft Drag?

The Soft Drag (a skate toe drag) is a foundational skating mechanic to cut laterally but C-cutting with one foot and using the toe of your other skate to help guide your laterally movement as a grounding point into the ice. This foot keeps your balance and helps you cut sharper instead of just holding up it in the air. Other important points are to drop the hips on a slant in the direction you want to go, as well as being sure to use internal hip rotation with adduction.

Advantages

The simplicity of the movement sets players up optimally for layering in and mechanics stacks and other movements. It uses the least amount of energy by relying on gravity and the radius of your skate blade to turn. It allows you to be quicker to get around players and return fast back to our hockey ready posture so you can react faster to in-game situations.

How to Perform the Soft Drag (Step-by-Step):

• -Start in your corkscrew position.
• -Relax your shoulders, keep your elbow up, and your top hand in the “crevice.”
• -C-cut with your feet like the corkscrew.
• -With heel pressure, then collapse one ankle to your inside edge and drop the hip simultaneously.
• -Drag the toe of your other skate as a point in the ice to help steer.
• -Keys are to stay wide and loose, internally rotation the hips and adduct during the movement.

Drills to Practice the Soft Drag From the Downhill Skating System:

• -Start with repeated reps of the Soft Drag when corkscrewing.
• -Progress to zig-zags: corkscrew → soft drag → corkscrew → soft drag.
• -Stack with other mechanics and flow through the Downhill Skating System principles.
• -Use it in game-like drills and layer in things like shooting, varying cadences and widths.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

• -Tightening up and losing shin angle.
• -Treating it like a push instead of a drag.
• -Failing to collapse hips and tilt correctly.