Free ice hockey template, no account
Free Ice Hockey Player Evaluation Form
A mid-season report you can hand a parent: ice hockey skills rated against the age group, a section for goaltenders, defense, centers and wingers, and the space that matters most, in words, for what went well, what to work on, and one thing to practice at home. It describes what a player does, never size, and it is the page to have the ice time conversation on.
What an ice hockey player evaluation should include
Nine rows in the main table, one table for position skills, and three open-ended sections at the end.
- The main table. Skating, acceleration, puck handling, passing, shooting, positioning, physical play, hockey sense and coachability, rated against the age group, with a column for what you saw. Leave physical play blank where your league does not allow contact.
- Position skills. Positioning and angles, rebound control and the glove and blocker for goaltenders; backward skating, gap control and the first pass for defense; faceoffs, two-way awareness and backchecking for centers; speed, shooting and puck retrieval for wingers. Fill in the rows that match the position and leave the rest blank.
- The writing. What went well (the strengths), what to work on (the areas for improvement), and one thing to practice at home.
- The last line. The date you went through it with the player. Worth filling in for the same reason a receipt is.
Effort and coachability are the exception to rating against the age group. They are marked against what you saw from this player, because nobody is below average for a nine-year-old at trying hard.
Ice hockey player evaluation versus tryout evaluation
The two sheets rate similar skills and do different jobs.
- A tryout evaluation compares players. Several evaluators score the same group in one session, and the average sheets help a program place players and balance teams. The ice hockey tryout evaluation form is built for that, and the ice hockey tryouts guide covers running the session.
- A player evaluation describes one player. One coach, about halfway through the season, rating a player against the age group rather than teammates, with the writing a family keeps. That is this page. Its scale reads as strengths and focus areas for that reason.
| Tryout evaluation | Player evaluation | |
|---|---|---|
| When | Before the season | About halfway through it |
| Who scores | Several evaluators, independently | Usually one coach |
| Compared with | The rest of the group | What is typical for the age group |
| Used for | Placing players and balancing teams | Development and a talk with the family |
| What you hand over | An averaged scorecard | A written report a parent keeps |
A program that holds tryouts can use both: the tryout sheet to place players before the season, and this one halfway through it to say how each of them is doing.
Ice hockey comments a parent can act on
The numbers give the page its shape and the sentences are what a family remembers. Vague praise and vague criticism are equally useless, and hockey has a specific thing to say about almost everything. Compare:
- Skating. Not "needs to skate better". Try "strong on the forward stride but stays upright on backward crossovers. Getting lower through the turn is the next thing."
- Puck handling. Not "needs better hands". Try "controls the puck well in open ice but looks down when a defender closes. Keeping the head up through the cones is the next thing."
- Hockey sense. Not "needs to see the ice better". Try "follows the puck carrier and skates into the same lane as the center. Scanning for open ice before the puck arrives is the next thing."
- Attitude. Not "great attitude". Try "stayed engaged on the bench through a quiet second period and was the first to tell a teammate who made a mistake that it was fine."
The last section, one thing to practice at home, is the most useful line on the page and the one most often left blank. In hockey it is usually something simple and safe: stickhandling with a ball, a balance exercise, edge work on a skating lesson, or a stretch the coach has taught. It is never a drill that needs ice or a shooter to try unsupervised.
Talking about ice time on paper
Ice time is the question a report gets asked about most, and most reports leave it to the lobby. A few things the page can do about it.
- Say how it is decided. A sentence on how lines, pairs and shifts are set in your program, such as equal shifts for younger groups, or by line and situation for older ones. It answers a question before it is asked.
- Describe what earns more. Name the skill that would change a player's role, such as getting their head up or backchecking harder, and not a number of minutes.
- Never promise minutes. A promise on paper becomes a complaint when the game does not go to plan.
- Rate the hockey, never the size. A comment about a player being small or big is not a skill note, and a player remembers it. Describe the skating, the decisions and what to work on.
Other sports, and the general version
This is the ice hockey version. The general player evaluation form works for any sport, and the ice hockey forms and templates page lists the other 5 ice hockey documents.
Playbook Logix provides customizable templates for informational and administrative use. They are not legal advice and will not meet the requirements of every organization, sport or jurisdiction. Review anything you intend to rely on with your own attorney or your insurance carrier, and check your league and state requirements.
Common questions
What should an ice hockey player evaluation form include?
Ratings for skating, acceleration, puck handling, passing, shooting, positioning, hockey sense and coachability, a short section for the skills of the position the player plays, and three pieces of writing: what went well, what to work on, and one thing to practice at home. The writing is the part a family keeps.
When should we give out hockey evaluations?
About halfway through the season, and before the stretch run if you can. A report handed out at the end is a report card, accurate and too late. The same page at the midpoint is a plan with games left to act on it.
Should goaltenders be rated differently?
Yes. A goaltender is rated on positioning and angles, rebound control and the glove and blocker, in a section of their own, and is never rated against skaters. Fill in the goaltender rows for a goaltender and leave the skater rows for the skaters.
Should the evaluation mention ice time?
Briefly, and honestly. Ice time is the question parents most want answered, and a report that says nothing about it leaves them to ask in the lobby. Say how shifts and lines are decided in your program, and what a player can work on to earn more, but do not promise a number of minutes.
Why does the form leave out physical play?
Because contact rules differ by league and age group, and a row that rates physical play invites a young player to hit. The scorecard for tryouts has the criterion for programs where contact is allowed, and a coach can add a line here if theirs does.
Should I rate players against their teammates?
No. Rate against what is typical for the age group. A ranking inside the team gives a family a list of your own roster, which tells them nothing and does harm if it circulates. The form says on its face which comparison you used.
Do I have to give one to every player?
Yes. Evaluating the first line and skipping the fourth tells them where they stand in the coaching staff's attention. Short and honest for everyone beats thorough for the players who are already getting the ice.
More ice hockey tools
The rest of the ice hockey toolkit
Ice Hockey Registration Form
Positions, shooting hand, level, equipment owned and goalie gear needs, and injury questions, on a form for registration night.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Code of Conduct
Equipment, contact, penalty, dressing room and head-injury rules for players, and glass, bench, officials and waiting-a-day rules for parents, on one page with one signature.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Tryout Evaluation Form
A scoring grid for skating, puck skills, shooting, positioning and hockey sense, a table for lap times and shots, and sections for each position.
Open the generatorIce Hockey Tryouts & Evaluation Guide
A 60-minute run of show, seven stations from skating to scrimmage, a staffing plan, goalies, how to form lines and pairs, and a safety plan.
Read the guideIce Hockey Equipment & Jersey Checkout
Numbered jerseys, socks and goalie gear, with number, size, condition and replacement cost, and a return date.
Open the generatorPlaybook Logix
What Playbook Logix tracks behind an ice hockey evaluation
Playbook Logix is registration, rosters, payments, schedules and team messaging for youth and adult sports, in one place. A report is only as good as the season behind it. This is what Playbook Logix keeps so the report is quicker to write.
Attendance behind the report
Mark each player present or absent from your phone at the field, and on the web see every player against every event with an attendance percentage. It is the number a parent is really asking about when they ask about playing time. Free on every plan.
How it worksThe player and the family together
Jersey number, position and the parent's contact details sit on the roster, so the player you are writing about is one click from the adult you are handing the report to.
How it worksReach families without a group text
A team message board for things that need a record, live chat for the quick stuff, and reminders that respect quiet hours, so parents see a schedule change and do not mute the app.
How it worksThe Starter plan is free, and the iPhone and Android app is free on every plan. Anything described above as Coach plan and above needs a paid plan. See the plans or the mobile app. Nothing you type into the template above is sent to us, whether or not you ever sign up.
Keep the whole season in one place
Schedules, attendance, messages to the team and a roster that is the same in everyone's pocket. There is a free plan.