Pro Drills with Devon Levi

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 also gave 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. You can go back and watch the first two we published using the links at the bottom of this article as we continue the series with the first of a two-part drill that combines lateral speed with a focus on maintaining proper rotation, and controlled, quiet movements as well as patience and puck tracking.

“The goal is to always make sure we are working in a straight line and trying to stay on our feet as much as we possibly can,” Raimondo said. “We want to avoid sliding, moving across quiet, getting there early, quiet, in one piece and making sure we keep everything tight.”

PART 1 Starting from the Knees

In the first drill, Raimondo starts with the pucks in the middle of the ice at the hash marks and players on their one-time side to either side. The coach passes the puck to either side and the player can either shoot it right away or pass it back across for a one-timer on the other side. As you’ll see in the video below, Raimondo can also spin for a quick shot to keep it honest. Levi starts on his knees in the crease and recovers up on the first pass.

“It’s quick,” Raimondo stressed to the shooters. “Don’t give him any time.”