What is evaluated?

Evaluations can be a stressful process at times for players and their parents. More often than not, it is due to the uncertainty of what evaluators are looking to see from each player during the individual skills sessions and during the scrimmage games portion of the process.

Depending on the age of the player, there is a one or two-phase evaluation process. Novice aged players begin with an individual skills session and then participate in scrimmage games.

The Individual Skills Sessions are more or less a "macro" sort of the player's abilities which assist the Category Directors when setting up the groups for the rest of the process. This allows athletes who have upgraded their skills over the offseason a fair chance of making a team of comparable peers.
 
Atom and Peewee aged players begin right away with the scrimmage games.

The Scrimmage Game is the time an evaluator gets to see if all of the skills and hockey sense demonstrated in the previous phases now transfer into game scenarios. This is the phase of the process where a player shows their ability to see the ice, properly anticipate plays, and react accordingly.

All of these drills can be seen by clicking on the appropriate link found on the left-hand side of the homepage. Most have animations. Please take a moment to look at these so you are familiar with them during the ice session. Knowledge of the drills in advance is another way to make sure your performance is at its peak.
 

Responsibilities of the Evaluator

A successful process depends on basic ethics and responsibility in its evaluators.

Evaluators must demonstrate:

• Honesty – wrongly favoring one player:
  • cheats at least one other player in evaluations
  • handicaps a team of other players for the entire season
  • hurts the favored player by putting them in over their head
• Commitment – attendance is crucial
• Focus & Concentration – it is impossible to properly evaluate without full attention for the full session
• Impartiality – everyone has biases (personal, about hockey, etc.) ; recognize and acknowledge them and set them aside
• Independence – the statistical validity of the process requires full independence without comparing notes
• Professionalism – do not discuss specific players with anyone, especially your child; be quiet at the rink (the walls have ears); project maturity and class

Evaluation Criteria

Listed below is the criteria the evaluators use to score each player during the Scrimmage Game sessions during the evaluation process.

Please take some time to read so again, the player will be more prepared for the entire process.

SKILLS, GAMEPLAY

Skating

• Executes tight turns both ways
• Executes crossover turns both ways
•  Stops facing either direction
• Accelerates well
• Maintains good balance while skating; strong on skates
• Executes all skating skills at top speed
• Does not exhibit any major flaws in skating
•  Skates well laterally, forward and backward

Shooting

• Shoots with power and accuracy
• Releases shot quickly
• Executes forehand and backhand shot
• On forehand, executes wrist, snap and slap shot

Passing

• Passes accurately
• Receives pass with control
• Passes and receives pass at top speed
• Passes to players ahead of themselves
• Executes forehand and backhand passes
• Makes adjustments to receive off-target passes

Puck Handling

• Controls puck without looking down
• Stickhandles, doesn’t just push the puck
• Executes tight turns with puck, on forehand and backhand
• Stickhandles beyond 45 degrees in front of body; moves the puck side to side and front to back
• Able to protect puck by using body to shield it from defender

GENERAL GAMEPLAY

Hockey Sense

• Anticipates the play
• Makes high percentage play, especially in high-risk situations
• Is engaged and plays well away from the puck
• Provides offensive and defensive support for team mates
• Makes smart shift changes
• Versatile and can play different positions

Positional Play

• Knows role in defensive zone, defending and on offence
• Knows role in offensive zone, forechecking and on offence

Determination

• Full effort all the time
•  Offensively
• Defensively
•  Strong on the puck
• Offensively when protecting pucks
• Defensively when checking
• When battling for loose pucks

Offensive Play (Player’s Team Has the Puck)

• Creative and varies tactics
• Uses speed variation and top speed
• Handles puck at top speed
• Handles puck in traffic
• Patient with puck
• Avoids give-aways
•  Provides passing option to teammates

Defensive Play (The Other Team Has the Puck)

• Forechecks and backchecks to regain possession
•  Aware of and covers open opponent
•  Head on a swivel and active away from puck
•  Anticipates play
•  Puck carrier options
•  Other attacking players

DEFENSEMEN, GAMEPLAY

 Hockey Sense

•  Playmaking Ability
  • Vision, imagination
  • Creates time and space
•   Anticipation
  • Reads and reacts
  • Identifies transition
• Decision making
  • Identifies options and makes good choices
  • Good decisions under pressure, especially against forecheck
  • Patient

Physical Play

• Boards and Corners
  • Battles hard
  • Not afraid of contact
• Physical Presence
  • Makes most of size and strength no matter how big
  • Holds ground
•  Conditioning
  • Stamina through shift and game
• Body Checking
  • Knows how to execute body check
  • Priority is puck separation
  • Avoid making dangerous hits

Offensive Play

• Supports puck
  • Creates options for puck carrier
  • Looks for open ice
• Executes offensive skills
• Protects puck
•  Intelligent, accurate first pass out of own zone
• Rushes the puck when opportunity presents itself

Defensive Play

• Anticipation
  • Reads play, controls gaps
  • Understands pressure vs. contain
• Positioning
  • Angles well
  • Active away from puck
  • Understands defensive side positioning
• Skating
  • Strong backward skater
  • Mobile
  • Good lateral movement
  • Pivots well
  • Can transition fwd/bwd, bwd/fwd
• Against the Rush
  • Identifies the odd man rush and defends accordingly
  • Angles well
  • Takes away middle
  • Doesn’t get beaten wide
• Net Front
  • Head on a swivel
  • Aware of passing lane
  •  Active stick

FORWARDS, GAMEPLAY

Hockey Sense

• Playmaking Ability
  •  Vision, imagination
  • Creates time and space
• Anticipation
  • Reads and reacts
  • Identifies transition
• Decision making
  • Identifies options and makes good choices
  • Good decisions under pressure
  • Patient

Defensive Play

• Anticipation
  • Reads play, controls gaps
  • Understands pressure vs. contain
• Positioning
  • Angles well
  • Active away from puck
  • Understands defensive side positioning
  • Covers for rushing defensemen
• Backcheck
  • Works hard
  • Picks up open opponent
  • Through all three zones
  • Head on a swivel
  • Active stick
• Forecheck
  • Works hard
  • Active stick
  • Pays attention to teammates on the forecheck – F1, F2, F3

Offensive Play

• Supports puck
  • Creates options for puck carrier
  • Looks for open ice
• Executes offensive skills
• Protects puck
• Scoring touch

Physical Play

• Boards and Corners
  • Battles hard
  • Not afraid of contact
• Physical Presence
  • Makes most of size and strength no matter how big
  • Holds ground
• Conditioning
  • Stamina through shift and game
• Body Checking
  • Knows how to execute body check
  • Priority is puck separation
  • Avoid making dangerous hits

 

INTANGIBLES

Disciplined

• Avoids lazy/stupid penalties
• Contains negative emotions
• Deals well with adversity

Competitive

• Doesn’t quit
• Shows courage

Team Player

• Uses teammates
• Makes unselfish plays for best team result
• Positive attitude toward teammates
• Avoid excessively long shifts 

---

DOWNLOAD PRINTABLE SHEETS OF INFORMATION ABOVE

• Evaluation Criteria