Pop that puck!

One of the drills we sometimes practice at the Saturday morning Pickwick clinic is something that looks simple enough: popping the puck in the air to another skater who catches it and drops to the ice.

Like everything else in hockey, I find it easier said than done. I never really got the hang of it this past Saturday and then at stick time in Pasadena on Sunday was all over the place. Once I popped the thing straight up over the glass, the next time I tried the puck maybe got a millimeter or two off the ground.

The obvious use of the skill is for passing. But check out the above video to see how Linus Omark once employed popping the puck -- and it worked! That's sweet.

If that doesn't look hard enough for you, try this move by Omark. Again, he fools the goalie.

--Steve Hymon