Hockey tryout evaluation form
Skater and goalie sheets with a 1 to 5 scale, what to look for in every category, and guidance by age group. Print it for the rink, or use the Excel version that totals and ranks scores for you. Free, no sign-up.
| # | Skating | Puck skills | Shooting | Hockey IQ | Compete | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 22 |
| 8 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| 23 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 19 |
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 |
Score 1 to 5, against the level.
Every score is relative to the age and level you're evaluating. A 3 at 10U and a 3 at 16U are different players. Agree on what a 3 looks like before the first drill.
Skater categories
Skating
- ●First three strides and top speed
- ●Edges, crossovers, and tight turns
- ●Backward skating and pivots (forward to backward and back)
Puck skills
- ●Stickhandling with eyes up
- ●Passing on the tape, forehand and backhand
- ●Receiving passes in stride
Shooting
- ●Quick release off the pass
- ●Accuracy: hitting the spot, not just the net
- ●Shooting in stride, not stopping to shoot
Hockey IQ
- ●Positioning without the puck
- ●Reading the play a pass ahead
- ●Supporting the puck carrier, finding open ice
Compete
- ●Wins battles along the boards
- ●Backchecks hard every shift
- ●Responds after a mistake
Goalie categories
Angles & positioning
- ●Square to the puck
- ●Depth matched to the shooter
Movement
- ●T-push and shuffle to the post
- ●Butterfly recovery speed
Rebound control
- ●Smothers or steers pucks to the corner
- ●Controls low shots
Tracking
- ●Finds pucks through traffic
- ●Follows passes across the crease
Compete
- ●Battles for second and third saves
- ●Resets after a goal
What to weight at each level
General youth hockey practice, not an official USA Hockey or Hockey Canada standard. Adjust to your program.
How to run a fair youth hockey tryout
Assign jersey numbers, not names
Give every player a pinnie number at check-in. Evaluators score numbers only, which keeps the session fair and fast.
Use at least three evaluators
Ideally people who don't coach any of the players trying out. Average their scores, so one evaluator's bias doesn't decide a spot.
Agree on the scale before the first drill
Spend five minutes on what a 3 looks like at this age. Most scoring disagreements come from evaluators using different scales.
Mix drills with small-area games and a scrimmage
Drills show skill. Small-area games and scrimmages show hockey IQ and compete. Score both.
Run more than one session
One bad night shouldn't cut a player. Two or three sessions, averaged, give a far more honest picture.
Tell every player what to work on
The scores you collected are the feedback. Players who don't make the team deserve to know why, and what would change the answer next year.
Skip the clipboards and the data entry.
Tryout Mode uses these same categories on a phone. Each evaluator gets a no-login link, scores by jersey number with one tap per rep, and every player is ranked the moment the session ends. No one types scores into a spreadsheet at midnight.
Common questions
What should be on a hockey tryout evaluation form?
A jersey number column, one score column per category (skating, puck skills, shooting, hockey IQ, and compete for skaters), a total, and room for a short note. Goalies need their own sheet with goalie-specific categories like angles, movement, rebound control, and tracking.
What scale should tryout evaluators use?
A 1 to 5 scale anchored to the level being evaluated works best. 3 means "at level", what you expect from a rostered player at that age. Wider scales like 1 to 10 sound more precise, but evaluators rarely agree on the difference between a 6 and a 7.
How many evaluators should a youth hockey tryout have?
At least three, and ideally evaluators who don't coach any of the players trying out. Average their scores so no single evaluator decides a roster spot.
Should tryout evaluators know the players' names?
No. Score by jersey or pinnie number. It reduces bias toward players evaluators already know, and it is faster on the ice.
Is there a way to do this without paper and spreadsheets?
Yes. Hockey Coach Hub's Tryout Mode uses the same categories on a phone: a jersey-number grid, one tap per rep, a no-login link for each evaluator, and every player ranked by score the moment the session ends.