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M H J O N L I N E . C O M | N O V / D E C 2 0 2 1 14 by Shane Frederick Trick or Treat Tips try this right now.' You're usually too late, and the puck's going the other way. … I know that's repetitive, and a lot of people talk about it. But I believe it's so import- ant at a young age that skating is No. 1 to develop the things that will help your puck skills later on." OFF-ICE COUNTS "The great thing about hockey is you don't have to be on an ice sheet to work on your puck-handling skills." You can spend your summers working on hand skills in the driveway, the garage or the basement. Set up cones or hockey gloves and work figure eights with a tennis ball. Work on your range from left to right or right to left. ASK TODD KNOTT about hockey hands, and he pivots right to the feet. "I'm going to go in a different direction right away," said Knott, the associate head coach for the Minnesota State men's hockey team. "It's amazing how much your skating affects how you han- dle a puck." Knott knows what he's talking about. Now in his 13th season at Minnesota State, Knott has helped build the Mavericks into a perennial winner, one that captured six conference champion- ships in the last seven seasons and made its first appearance in the NCAA Frozen Four last April. Knott, who played college hockey at Bemidji State, says it takes work to pol- ish puck-handling skills that can deceive defenders, but that work starts with skating and goes up from there. Here are a few tips from Knott on developing better puck skills: SKATE, SKATE, SKATE "First and foremost, your skating," Knott said. "If you're not a great skater on your edges, I think it's a little more difficult to handle a puck, and so I'll go right to the skating part of it." Think of the ability to play fast. You want to be able to do all of the things you want to do with the puck—wheth- er that's puck handling, shooting or deceiving defenders and goaltenders with fakes and dekes—at full speed. Slowing down only … slows you down. "The game of hockey is too fast when you start thinking, 'OK, I'm going to Photo / Derek Ricke Tips for Improving Puck Skills and Deception with Todd Knott "The great thing about hockey is you don't have to be on an ice sheet to work on your puck-handling skills." Puck handling starts with strong edges.