About Pügi
Our Mission is to Improve the Game, One Player at a Time
Tadd Tuomie came up with the idea for the Pügi after two events; the first while he was playing professional hockey in Europe. He was watching a Czechoslovakian team practice one day and they were battling over tires on the ice. They were using them to practice their puck protection skills and also passing back and forth. he could tell by the way they moved the puck that it worked. Sometime later, while attending a coaching clinic, he heard the coach of the U.S. Olympic Women’s Hockey Team, Ben Smith, say that he often had his players pass with heavy steel ball bearings on the ice. While he said it greatly improved his players passing and shooting ability, the heavy steel balls would break skate blades too often.
There had to be a better option.
The first prototype for the Pügi looked a little different than what it is today. It was essentially a chunk of rubber, roughly shaped like a puck. Today, the Pügi is made in Minnesota, a couple hours north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul. It weighs just under three pounds and has since gained replaceable nylon sliders for dryland use. The rubber that it is made of easily bounces off the boards or off of harder walls so athletes can practice their shooting/passing on their own.
While some training tools might be geared towards a particular age group or skill level, the Pügi works for beginners to professionals. We have shipped them to youth teams as well as NHL and Olympic teams. It’s because it works. It will make your passes and your shot harder. As our mission statement says; we want to improve the game, one player at a time.
Frequently asked questions
Why is Practicing with Pügi so Important?
All sports are kinetic, whether they are high-speed sports such as hockey or low speed sports such as bowling. All relate to motion and require skills that employ motion. Many sports combine several different skills. A hockey player must skate and at the same time be able to handle, pass and shoot the puck. The quality of kinetic production is crucial.
In every sport the skills involved are developed in proportion to their importance, both separately and in combination. A hockey player will practice shooting, passing and receiving the puck while skating or while stationary. The athlete is building patterns or muscle memory while practicing. In the course of repeating correct movements and rhythms, the quality of the player's passing, receiving or shooting will improve considerably. The inverse is also true, if an athlete practices with poor technique or movement they will build poor patterns and will essentially become worse. it is more important to practice smart than hard.
Can you use it off the ice?
Originally the Pügi was designed to be used only on the ice, but the replaceable nylon sliders have been added on one side so that it can be used on concrete or a dry, smooth surface for training.
What impact will Pügi have on player development?
Lets look at what the Pügi requires of the player.
Concentration: Unlike a puck that is merely weighted, this object is huge and immediately draws attention. People want to use it.
Proper form: Once you have the Pügi on your stick you realize that the only way to handle or control it is by using proper form.
Body position: Because of the size and weight you immediately incorporate the use of your legs and arms in passing and receiving . Just as a pitcher in baseball uses his legs to generate inertia so do hockey players while passing and shooting a puck.
Hand position: As soon as a player passes and receives the Pügi his hands fall into the proper position on the stick in order to generate the inertia to move the puck.
Stick position: Because of its size, a player must hold the stick in the proper position in relation to his body in order to shoot, pass and receive.
Puck position on the stick: This is absolutely critical. The puck should be on the heal-middle of the blade of the stick when you pass and receive the puck. Because of the size of the puck the player has to pass it from the heal of the stick. This means the longer the player holds the puck before it is released, the faster it moves. The disadvantage of a weighted regulation size puck is that the athlete could generate enough force to move the puck while not having the puck in proper position on the stick. Therefore, practicing poor technique. If the Pügi is not in the proper position on the stick, the puck will roll off the end because of the size and the player will not be able to shoot, pass or receive the puck.