Pro Drills with Devon Levi
- Devon Levi performs edge work and skating drills before every practice to activate his feet and establish ice connection before facing shots.
- Levi warns that taking shots without a skating warmup causes early dropping, impatient movement, and poor foot stability in the crease.
- His pre-practice routine focuses on keeping weight on the toes rather than the heels to optimize balance and stance pressure points.
- Levi added single-leg hops (forward and backward) and a spin move to his routine to train balance in awkward, unpredictable positions.
- The same core skating routine Levi used with coach Marco Raimondo carried over into his first full NHL season with the Buffalo Sabres.
Catching up with Devon Levi while he was in Kelowna working with trainer Adam Francilia not only provided our audience with a couple of exceptional new podcasts (listen to Levi here and Francilia here), but it provided a chance to review some of the skating and drills that the Buffalo Sabres goalie did with his Montreal-based coach Marco Raimondo.
InGoal reviewed footage of several drills with Levi that we will share in the coming weeks but given its August and a lot of goalies might be skating on their own, it made sense to start with the edge work drills that Levi prefers to get ready for a practice.
In addition to footage from our time on the ice with Levi and Raimondo (and Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Jet Greeves) last summer in Montreal, we also have footage of Levi using most of the same skating drills ahead of a morning skate with the Sabres.
More with Devon Levi
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