How to Skate Faster in Hockey: The 6 Off-Ice Drills That Actually Build Speed
By Coach Cort Bulloch · PowerSkater by STRYDE Hockey™ · Updated Jul 2026
Ask any scout what separates elite players from everyone else and you’ll hear the same word over and over: speed. Not just top-end speed — the explosive first three strides that win races to loose pucks and blow past defenders.
Here’s the part most players miss: the fastest way to get faster usually happens off the ice. Below are the six drills I give my own athletes to build real skating power.
1. Start With Sprints - Hockey Is a Game of 30-Second Bursts
The average shift lasts 30–40 seconds of all-out, anaerobic effort, so training that way off the ice transfers directly onto it. You don’t need a full 100 yards — accelerate to top speed, hold it 2–3 seconds, then walk back and repeat. Clean sprint form fires the exact muscles you skate with (glutes, quads, hamstrings, core), builds power, and cuts injury risk. The payoff is a faster first step.
2. Box Jumps Build the Explosive First Step
Jumps are plyometric — explosive movements that develop the fast-twitch power behind a harder push. In an athletic stance (arms in line with your torso, hips and knees near 90°, feet shoulder-width), drive up onto a stable box and land as softly as possible with both feet at once. Step down and repeat. Add a dumbbell in each hand once bodyweight feels easy.
3. Lateral Lunges Train the Exact Direction You Push
Skating power is lateral, and side lunges build the glutes, quads and hamstrings you push with — plus the abductors and adductors that stabilize every stride. Feet hip-width apart, lunge sideways as far as you comfortably can, keep the trailing leg straight, then drive back to the start and switch sides. Control your body position on every single rep.
4. Body Squats Are the Foundation of a Powerful Stride
The squat is the classic power builder — it develops the strength you need to push off the ice with authority. Feet shoulder-width, arms extended, lower as if sitting back into a chair with your weight in your heels and chest lifted. Pause at the bottom, then drive up. Slow and controlled reps build control — and control is what makes you fast. Hold a medicine ball to your chest to progress.
5. Box Step-Ups Add Single-Leg Power to Every Stride
Step-ups build single-leg strength in the quads and glutes so you generate more power with each individual stride. Facing a platform about 30 inches high, place one full foot on the box, keep your knee in line with your toes, and push up through that foot. Step back down with the other foot and repeat. Add dumbbells for more of a challenge.
6. The Drill That Changes Everything: The PowerSkater™
Every drill above builds strength. The PowerSkater™ by STRYD.os™ builds the skating stride itself. It’s an off-ice system that mimics the exact bio-mechanical movement of skating — strengthening the quads, hamstrings and glutes while working the knees, ankles and hips.
Specially designed resistance bands recreate the bodyweight push, loaded out and back behind the body (not side to side), so each push and return trains a true concentric and eccentric movement. With nothing to hold on to, you’re forced to hold a balanced posture and build a real “power-stabilization center” — the core control that separates fast skaters from the rest. It’s the closest thing to putting in reps on the ice, in your basement or garage, all year round.
Four More Ways to Add Speed
- Optimize your stride length. Fully extend the leg and foot on every push — don’t kick your heels up until you’ve pushed all the way through.
- Fix your posture. Stay slightly upright, bent at the hips with a bent knee — it’s what lets you reach a full-length stride.
- Train without your gear. Hockey gear is heavy; training without it sharpens form and lets you focus on pure speed.
- Repeat relentlessly. Whether it’s these drills or ice time, doing it day in and day out is what turns effort into a faster stride.
Let customers speak for us
Excellent product and great experience. My daughter loves it!! Cort is amazing and made it fun for her.
I already started seeing an improvement in my son’s skating and stride length. He really enjoys using this tool to help with his hockey training.
The PowerSkater is just what my son needs to get low, open up his hips and elongate his stride. His coaches keep telling him to get low and push out those strides. I saw some improvement on his first set.
The equipment is great!
The onboarding and coaching with Coach Cort is incredible!
Cort has my son on the machine and in good form in a matter of minutes. Banging out those reps!
Being a hockey dad that has spent much $ on clinics and privates, i really think Powerskater will help move my son to the front of the pack and up a level in the fall.
Thanks Coach Cort!
I started my skating journey late as an adult and the power skater has been a huge tool helping me to develop and reiterate proper skating form. Having multiple resistance bands to choose from ensured that I was always able to continuously progress and challenge myself as I improved. I was very surprised at how easy the bands are to switch out making it a breeze to use with multiple people or for the crossunder attachment to switch to a lower resistance to help focus on proper form. This has directly translated to the ice as the reps on the PowerSkater helped commit the skating stride to muscle memory and I could ensure I was extending my full stride and knew what that felt like to ensure I wasn't overextended and throwing my from off. It also improved my skating form in ensuring I was getting low enough and reaching the proper knee bend. The PowerSkater helped me confirm not only what that position feels like, but also in strengthening my muscles to be able to hold the proper form while skating longer and longer. Not only does PowerSkater help with stride development, but also is a fantastic tools for crossovers with the crossunder attachment. With this I'm able to work both cross "over" and cross "under" depending on where I hook up the crossunder attachment to the track of the PowerSkater. The training sessions with Coach Cort have helped me get the most out of the PowerSkater as I'm able to get instant feedback on form and stride. These sessions have given me direction on the different drills that I can do with the PowerSkater and the various ways in which I can utilize the crossunder attachment.
My 10 year old son really enjoys his Power Skater! The virtual demo Cort gave was really good to get him going on the right foot.
The on-boarding session with Cort really helped us understand how the machine functioned and its potential to enhance our son’s skill set. Cort first evaluated Kane’s stride and form then provided excellent tips to get low and better extend his stride for more explosive skating. Cort made the session really fun for Kane and was very encouraging. We are looking forward to working with the machine and seeing improvements on the ice.
We have been using the PowerSkater and personal training for almost 2 years now and have seen real improvement. Specifically, the PowerSkater has helped build a more consistent and powerful stride. It allows us to build core and single leg strength that are critical for skating success. The combination of the PowerSkater and direct coaching from Cort is game changing. Highly recommend to anyone looking to help take their game to the next level.
We’ve been using the PowerSkater PLUS+ for about two years now with my son (2013 birth year), and it’s been one of the best off-ice training tools we’ve invested in.
What stands out immediately is how well it reinforces proper skating mechanics. It’s not just a workout; it actually builds muscle memory for stride, edge control, and overall skating posture. Over time, we’ve seen noticeable improvements in balance, stride efficiency, and overall confidence on the ice.
The build quality is solid, and it’s held up really well with consistent use. It’s also versatile enough to scale as they improve, which has been important as he’s gotten older and stronger.
If I had one piece of advice, it would be to stay consistent with it. Like anything, the real value comes from regular use. When my son is using it consistently, the carryover to his skating is obvious.
Overall, I’d absolutely recommend the PowerSkater PLUS+ to any hockey parent looking to give their player an edge outside the rink.
We all love it! Can’t wait to see how this helps speed, strength and technique!
We are so excited to finally have the PowerSkater!! Our 2015 currently plays AA and needs to work on his stride, power, and speed and this is exactly the tool for him to do that when he can't get on the ice! Cort (the owner of PowerSkater) took the time to personally walk us through his mechanics, tweak his stance, and give him some great workout plans to start on immediately. Several of our teammates recommended the PowerSkater to us and spoke incredibly highly of how well it's worked for their players, so we were all in! I coach AA Travel and still play Men's league hockey and got on the PowerSkater and in 30 seconds could feel it working (and I lift legs twice a week!). If you want to build those Bedard/McDavid tree trunk legs, this is the tool for you!
I think this is a very effective training tool, especially for developing proper skating mechanics in young players. It naturally encourages good posture and reinforces correct stride technique, which is exactly what many kids struggle with.
One of its biggest strengths is that it promotes proper form—you can’t really cheat the movement, so it helps build good habits right away.
There are a couple of improvements that could make it even better. First, the side resistance blocks (push blocks) could be slightly taller or redesigned. When my son finishes his stride correctly and lifts his heel—as he should—the heel sometimes lands on top of the side block during the return phase instead of coming back cleanly to the starting position. This disrupts the flow of the movement and can throw off the rhythm of the stride.
Second, during alternating strides, there are times when one side doesn’t fully open or engage properly, which affects the opposite side. This may improve with more familiarity, as my son has only recently started using the device.
Overall, this is a very useful tool for building proper stride mechanics, and I would definitely recommend it for young players looking to improve their skating technique.
I think this is a very effective training tool, especially for developing proper skating mechanics in young players. It naturally encourages good posture and reinforces correct stride technique, which is exactly what many kids struggle with.
One of its biggest strengths is that it promotes proper form—you can’t really cheat the movement, so it helps build good habits right away.
There are a couple of improvements that could make it even better. First, the side resistance blocks (push blocks) could be slightly taller or redesigned. When my son finishes his stride correctly and lifts his heel—as he should—the heel sometimes lands on top of the side block during the return phase instead of coming back cleanly to the starting position. This disrupts the flow of the movement and can throw off the rhythm of the stride.
Second, during alternating strides, there are times when one side doesn’t fully open or engage properly, which affects the opposite side. This may improve with more familiarity, as my son has only recently started using the device.
Overall, this is a very useful tool for building proper stride mechanics, and I would definitely recommend it for young players looking to improve their skating technique.
I just got the Powerskater Plus for my 13 year old. It was easy to set up and he started using it right away! We just had our first coaching experience with Cort and it was great to have his guidance, know the correct form to use, and what the next steps are! Very happy so far! I think this will really improve my son's skating technique!
The powerskater has really helped my son strengthen his stride and get faster on the ice. This weekend he went back to roller hockey for the first time in a year and I was truly amazed at how effortless his stride was. Normally when he goes from ice to roller after a long time off, his stride looks heavier and he’s just slower. I commented to him how great he looked and that he was much faster than usual, and his response was that it was the stryder. Although his legs hurt, he’s started to feel that it ‘hurts so good’ and is making him better and he wants to do it on his own all the time!
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About the author — Coach Cort Bulloch. Cort is a skating-development coach and the creator of the PowerSkater™ training system, used by players and programs to build off-ice skating speed and power. Learn more about the PowerSkater™ PLUS+ →
