Big Bad Backwards V Stop
What is it? A stop while moving backwards that the player turns his/her toes out and stops with their feet in a “V “position. The player does this while remaining backwards.
Why do we need it?
When defenseman are skating backwards they need to be able to stop facing the play. PK Suban who is one of the best defenseman in the NHL does this stop really well. You need to keep your feet shoulder width apart and your knees slightly bent with your head and shoulders up nice and high. Make sure you turn your toes out and have your whole body leaning forward. Your weight should be on the ball of your foot with your skates no more than shoulder width apart. Do not end up having your feet really wide to the side or much wider than your shoulders when you stop. If you do this it will reduce the pressure you should have on your skate blades because your feet are not under your body weight anymore. This will lengthen your stop and put you in a real bad position to be able to jump out in a forward quick start.
In a game situation you need to be able to take off from this position with a quick start. Push both feet straight back and down so they don’t go out to far. Don’t start with your weight in the middle of the blade. If you do this it will cause your blade to chatter, skip, or jump because you have too much blade in contact with the ice. Keep your weight on the front end of your blades by pressing down on the ball of your foot. There are 5 different stops that all players need to learn and master to be efficient in a game of hockey. If you can only stop one or two ways it makes playing the game real difficult. Once you can stop all 5 ways you will automatically use the right stop at the right time in the game. The trick is to be able to stop on either foot or both feet and to also be able to turn to either side.