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Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in blue and gold gear in butterfly stance during Warren Strelow three-pucks drill

Pro Drills inspired by Warren Strelow Featuring Sabres Seamus Kotyk and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Kevin Woodley | Co-Founder & Managing Editor — InGoal Magazine | | 3 min read

Co-founder and Managing Editor of InGoal Magazine. NHL.com correspondent covering the Vancouver Canucks and author of the Unmasked series. Previously with the Associated Press, USA Today, Sports Illustrated, and The Hockey News.

Key Takeaways
  • Warren Strelow's 5-puck system places pucks at five key crease positions representing the most common save locations, forming the foundation of these drills.
  • Seamus Kotyk uses these movement sequences as a 3-4 minute daily warmup with Sabres goalies, including top prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
  • Break the 5-puck drill into one-sided variations by removing pucks from the opposite side to isolate and fix weaknesses on a specific side.
  • Incorporate ReverseVH entries and exits directly into these movement patterns without needing separate drills.
  • Goalies are given flexibility to choose their own routes between pucks, making the drills adaptable for all skill levels and styles.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen photo – Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire

Over the past month we’ve introduced a series of simple movement drills featuring top Buffalo Sabres prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and their goaltending development coach, Seamus Kotyk, inspired by the late Warren Strelow, a legend in the goalie coach fraternity.

For those who may not have seen or remember the original 5-puck movement sequences that kicked off this series, a reminder that Strelow would place five pucks strategically around the edge of the crease. Each represented what he believed to be five key points where saves were most often made, a variation of the zones or quadrants we still see today.

Those five points were used as focal points for movement in drills Kotyk and Sabres goalies still use daily, alternating between the variations for 3-4 minutes as part of their warm-ups.

“Just start moving around the crease and we are going to make you quicker, and if a guy is old school or new school, no problem,” Kotyk said. “We’re just going to make you move from these points to these points in the net and enhance your skills. That’s how we go about it.”

This week’s variation focuses on one side at a time by removing pucks from the other side:

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