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How to Run an Ice Hockey Tryout: A Coach's Step-by-Step Guide

To run an ice hockey tryout, you evaluate every skater across the core skills that decide games (skating, stickhandling, passing, shooting, and compete level), score each one on a consistent 1-to-5 scale, and use those scores to build teams, with a separate position-specific evaluation for goalies. The hard part is rarely the scoring sheet. It is organizing the whole event so the evaluation stays fair, the limited ice time runs on schedule, and you can defend every roster decision afterward, especially when you are moving hundreds of skaters through in a single weekend. This guide walks through exactly how to conduct an ice hockey tryout from first planning to final offers, whether you are a minor hockey association running placement evaluations, a travel club selecting a competitive roster, or a large program putting 300 players in front of 15 to 20 coaches.

Coaches running a youth ice hockey tryout with skaters rotating through skating, stickhandling, and shooting stations on the ice

What Skills Should You Evaluate at an Ice Hockey Tryout?

Evaluate five core skills for skaters at an ice hockey tryout: skating, stickhandling, passing, shooting, and compete level. Skating is the foundation, since no amount of puck skill compensates for weak feet, so most evaluators weight it heavily. Goalies are assessed on a separate set of position-specific skills. A short, shared list keeps a large evaluation panel focused and consistent across the limited windows of ice time you have.

Here is what evaluators look for in each skill and how each is typically assessed at a tryout:

Skill	What evaluators look for	How it's assessed
Skating	Edge control, quick starts and stops on either edge, full leg extension, and balance	Timed skating laps and edge drills; coaches watch stride mechanics
Stickhandling	Puck control with head up, scanning the ice rather than looking down at the puck	Cone or weave course; player keeps possession while reading options
Passing	Accuracy, timing, and the weight of the pass landing tape-to-tape and catchable	Partner and give-and-go passing drills
Shooting	Power, accuracy, quick release, and the ability to shoot in stride	Shooting drills on net, often timed off a pass
Compete level	Battling for pucks, effort in tight games, and hockey IQ when the score matters	Small-area games and scrimmages
Goaltending	Movement (T-pushes post to post), positioning, rebound control, and tracking the puck	Position-specific goalie drills and shots in a scrimmage
Intangibles	Coachability, attitude, and awareness	Observed throughout; used to adjust the overall score

A practical cue from experienced evaluators: head position during stickhandling tells you more than the hands alone, because a player who looks down cannot read the play developing around them, and compete level shows up in scrimmages far more than in isolated drills.

How Do You Score an Ice Hockey Tryout?

Score each skater from 1 to 5 on every skill, where 5 is the best, then total the scores to rank players objectively. A simple, shared 1-to-5 scale turns subjective impressions ("he can really skate") into comparable data you can sort, defend, and revisit. Score goalies on their own sheet so they are ranked against each other rather than against skaters, and handle compete level and intangibles as adjustments that nudge a player up or down.

Two rules make the scores trustworthy at scale. First, align your evaluators on what each number means before the tryout, so a "3" stride and a "4" stride mean the same thing to every coach on the bench. With 15 to 20 evaluators grading the same players, this calibration is what keeps scores comparable. Second, score immediately after each rep while it is fresh, and add a short note next to the number. "Strong edges, keeps head down on puck" tells you far more in a week than a bare "3."

How to Set Up Ice Hockey Tryout Stations at Scale

Set up one station per skill and rotate small groups through them so the ice is always busy and every skater gets identical reps. Use cones and the ice markings to define each station: a skating and edges lane, a stickhandling weave course, a passing area, a shooting station on net, and a separate goalie crease. Ice time is expensive and limited, so a tight station rotation matters even more than it does on a field.

How you staff those stations depends on size. At a small tryout, one coach can grade a whole skill. At scale, with 300 players and 15 to 20 coaches, you do the opposite: put several evaluators at each station so a large group keeps moving, and have every coach score the same drill against the shared rubric. Some programs run it in panels, splitting evaluators across stations, while others move all coaches to one station at a time so everyone grades the same drill together, which is common for timed skating laps. Either way, the goal is multiple independent scores per player, which you average for a more reliable result than any single grader could give. Keep a staffed check-in table at the rink entrance so you always know who has arrived and who is still expected.

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Ice Hockey Tryout Timeline: From Planning to Finalized Teams

Plan to start two to three weeks before tryout day, then move through registration, check-in, evaluation, review, and offers. Here is the full end-to-end checklist for hosting the event:

Two to three weeks before: Planning

Lock the ice time and rink; confirm the booking and any backup slot
Decide age groups, number of teams, and roster sizes
Build (or reuse) your evaluation form with the skater skills and a separate goalie form
Recruit and brief evaluators; align all 15 to 20 coaches on the 1-to-5 standards
Open online registration so you have a confirmed player count

Registration

Collect each player's name, age or birth year, position (skater or goalie), and contact info
Assign every player a tryout number (jersey pinnies or bib numbers) so evaluators score by number, not by name, which keeps scoring objective even with hundreds of players
Send a confirmation with ice time, rink location, and what to bring

Tryout day: Check-in

Check players in against your registration list and hand out numbers
Group skaters and goalies separately and brief them on the station flow

Tryout day: Evaluation

Run players through each station; evaluators score 1 to 5 and add notes in real time
For multi-session tryouts, repeat key drills on day two so a single off-day doesn't sink a player
Run small-area games or a scrimmage to see compete level and hockey IQ

After the tryout: Review and decide

Combine every evaluator's scores into one ranked list, with goalies on their own list
Discuss bubble players as a staff, using notes alongside the numbers
Finalize teams or draft order

Offers: Accept, decline, and finalize

Extend offers to selected players with a clear accept-by deadline
Track accepts and declines, and go to your next-best player when a spot opens
Send respectful, timely notice to players who weren't selected
Confirm final rosters and communicate next steps (practice schedule, ice fees)

Run Your Entire Ice Hockey Tryout with Rizzler Sports

A tryout at scale is a logistics problem before it is a hockey problem. Three hundred registrations, hundreds of check-ins, a stack of evaluation sheets for every coach, then the follow-up: inviting selected players, tracking who accepted, and back-filling spots as players decline. Rizzler Sports handles all of it in one place, which saves coaches and administrators hours of work per tryout. Players register online, coaches score evaluations on a phone or tablet at every station, results rank automatically, and you send and track offers without a single spreadsheet or group text.

Running a larger program, a full minor hockey association, a travel organization, or a school district? We will set your tryout up end to end and show you how much staff time it saves.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How long should an ice hockey tryout be?

Most youth hockey tryouts run 60 to 90 minutes of ice time per age group, since ice is booked in fixed blocks. Competitive programs often hold two or more sessions across several days so a player's evaluation isn't decided by a single off-day. Build in time for check-in and gearing up before the ice time starts.

How do you staff coaches at a large tryout?

At scale, do not assign one coach per skill. With 300 players and 15 to 20 coaches, put multiple evaluators at each station, or move all coaches through one station at a time, and have everyone score the same drill against a shared 1-to-5 rubric. Averaging several independent scores per player is more reliable, and far faster, than a single grader working through hundreds of athletes.

What should players bring to a hockey tryout?

Full equipment: skates, helmet with a cage or shield, gloves, pads, stick, and water. Goalies should bring their own goalie gear. Tell players to arrive early enough to check in and get dressed before the ice time begins, since a late skater loses evaluation reps you cannot get back.

How do you evaluate goalies at a tryout?

Score goalies on a separate sheet against position-specific skills: movement such as T-pushes from post to post, positioning and depth, rebound control, and how well they track the puck. Give them live shots and crease reps in a scrimmage, and rank them against other goalies rather than against skaters.

Do I need timed skating to evaluate speed?

No, but a timed lap gives you an objective skating number instead of a guess, and skating is the skill that most often makes or breaks a tryout. Pair the time with edge-control drills so you grade both speed and balance, and use the numbers to nudge overall scores up for the strongest skaters.

See also: Player Evaluations in Rizzler → · How to Run a Lacrosse Tryout → · How to Run a Field Hockey Tryout →