ALL great players spend many more hours working away from the rink than in a structured environment. Use an old punctured tennis ball and wiffle ball stuffed with sliced up tennis ball to practice. Stick quickness can be vastly improved by hitting a ball against the wall while in SUMO position. Only dedicated players from all levels are to attend the summer sessions. You should be dressed and warming up in the dressing room at least 15 minutes before any session.
Ice time is too valuable to waste on stretching exercises that can be done prior to ice time.
The St. Louis Blues attribute much of their surprise success this year to a change in philosophy, endorsed by Brett Hull. Although his goal scoring is down his defensive play and play without the puck has vastly improved. The philosophy is not brain surgery. Take into account the exhaustion caused by body contact and that 45 seconds is often a stretch. You cannot mentally nor physically perform as well when tired, not to mention how cold and out of sync a team becomes when players spend long periods on the bench.