Pro Tips with Ben Bishop
- Ben Bishop's top puck-handling tip is to keep a puck on your stick as often as possible, even during informal practice time.
- Bishop stayed late after a full Stars morning skate to continue working on his game, modeling the extra-rep mentality he recommends to all goalies.
- Creating your own puck-handling reps — not waiting for drills to provide them — is a habit shared by elite puck-handling goalies including Martin Brodeur.
- Goalies at any level can apply Bishop's approach by using conditioning or team drills as additional opportunities to handle the puck.
- Working through fatigue during late-skate reps, as Bishop does, reflects the real-game conditions goalies face when handling the puck under pressure.
When it comes to handling the puck, Dallas Stars goalie Ben Bishop practices what he preaches and that includes his advice for getting better, no matter what level you play at.
Bishop shared the most important part during his appearance on Episode 145 of the InGoal Radio Podcast, and like several top puck-handling goalies before him, it was all about making the time to play the puck at every opportunity, even if you have to create them yourself.
“I always want to have a puck of my stick,” Bishop said. “I love messing around with it.”
If that sounds familiar, it’s because we’ve heard similar from some of the greatest puck handling goalies in NHL history, including Martin Brodeur. We’ll share some of those links below, but not before an example of Bishop living up to his advice during a recent morning skate with the Stars, and something every goalie can do themselves in practice.
Keep in mind that Bishop, who is still working his way back from knee surgery, had already been on the ice for a while with the Stars, first for the usual morning skate drills, and then doing some goalie- and shooter-specific work at the other end. The 12-year NHL veteran then stayed out late to provide a target for the healthy scratches during a series of conditioning drills that weren’t always goalie friendly and after initially using these drills to also work on post entry and exits before the shot, there is some fatigue setting in by the time the camera was on.
The real point of sharing this, however, is what happens after each rep:
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