Last Updated on Sunday, 27 May 2012 18:31
By Diane Ness
One of the most underrated skating skills used is a basic inside edge shuffle. If you watch a college or pro game you will notice a lot of times skaters are mostly gliding or trying to maintain their speed.
This is when the inside edge shuffle is useful. It is a skill that is not really understood or practiced regularly and yet it is used constantly throughout every shift on the ice.
What we first must understand is that a skater is not always moving at full speed. In fact, most of the time skaters are gliding and trying to maintain some sort of speed.
The inside edge shuffle happens when a skater is in a glide position and will push from the heel of his/her inside edge. This push starts from the back and moves forward in a C cut motion.
The important thing to remember is that both feet are on the ice and stay on the ice, one skate on an inside edge while the other is on an outside edge or a flat. We are pushing with the whole blade, being careful not to “rut” too deep into the ice.
Staying low and having a good knee bend is essential to being able to make a bigger C cut while shuffling. Finally, a forward lean will help maintain forward movement. You will kill your movement and probably stop altogether the second you stand up straight, so having a low center of gravity is key.
There are a few reasons that skaters will execute this skill. First, a skater is able to conserve a lot of energy while maintaining forward progress. He/she can keep moving until a quick burst of speed is needed. Skating efficiency is why many top-end NHL defensemen are able to play 26 minutes a game. Doing this maneuver doesn’t take a lot of energy but keeps you moving.
This skill will also help you avoid being caught standing flat footed. You rarely see good players get caught flat footed, no matter where they are on the ice.
A great drill to do is to scatter a bunch of pucks in a zone and have a skater shuffle with both feet on the ice in and out of the pucks for 30 seconds. If a skater does this right, he/she will feel the burn in their legs but should be able to maintain speed the entire time. This is also a great drill to use with 2 skaters, having one leader and one follower.
Keep practicing and remember to watch for this skill the next time you watch a high level team play. Good luck.
Diane Ness has been a full-time professional skating coach for over 35 years. She has coached both figure skaters and hockey players alike and is a former U.S. gold medalist in figure skating. She is the Director for the Pro Edge Power hockey camps and the Learn to Skate program at Highland Park Arena. Ness is the skating coach for the New Jersey Devils, the University of Minnesota men’s and women’s hockey teams and the U.S. Women’s Olympic Hockey Team. She has trained players in the NHL, AHL, NCAA, USHL and NAHL.
