Stick-handling is perhaps the most difficult of the basic skills to master. It allows a skilled player to maneuver around opponents and create better offensive opportunities. Passing is what makes hockey a true team sport and helps make the game fun. Passing gets everyone on the ice involved in the action and turns scoring into a team effort. Helping teammates experience success is what the game is all about, and passing allows the thrill of scoring to be shared.
Shooting is the end result of an offensive team play and is the action that produces a goal.
Many players spend most of their time practicing shooting because they believe scoring is the most fun. Players should, however, place an equal emphasis on the other basic skills of hockey, given the fact most players generally take fewer than six shots in an entire game. The goaltender is responsible for guarding the team's goal and preventing the opposing team from scoring. The defensemen also attempt to gain possession of the puck and pass to teammates to initiate an offensive scoring opportunity. However, forwards also assist the defensemen by back-checking after their team has yielded control of the puck to the opposition.