Great question. While “experts” disagree on the optimal number of times one should play hockey, we can all agree that zero times a week is not enough. Even once a week is weak sauce.
So what is the optimal number of times you should play hockey to get better?
If you don’t play yet, obviously you should get out there as soon as possible (you won’t regret it we promise).
Most people play on one team, but it is really hard to get better if you only lace them up once a week. Think of it this way, a typical 75 minute ice time with 3 lines of forwards and D breaks down to about 45 minutes of actual stop time in a game. (stoppages eat real time but don’t affect playing time).
You are out there for 15 minutes at best if everyone takes the same length shifts. (do they?). NHL shifts are on average 50 seconds! This in itself is unlikely. How can you get better at the game if you only play it for 15 minutes once a week? Can you get better at anything doing it for 15 minutes, once a week?
Granted the experience is still fun, the dressing room is why we really do it (and the parking lot after).
And what if you miss a game because you are away or sick? There goes that once a week, and you got zero minutes of hockey and zero time in in the room. (sad face)
Our view, and it is biased (we want more hockey players in the world), once a week gets you out there. Twice a week helps you maintain the skills you acquired so far. Three times a week (or more) and you start getting better at the game. Repetition is the key.
Do you expect major gainz if you go the gym only once a week?
Exactly. At three times a week you are getting enough game exposure that you start seeing patterns emerge. Situations you have seen before, and you can try to do something on the ice as you recognize each particular pattern. Every time you iterate through it, you get a bit more knowledge and skill.
You are also getting more reps on skates. Skating is not natural to anyone, even kids are unable to skate for the very first time. Why? Because it requires fine motor skills to keep balance on a knife edge or two.
Kids that play from Timbits all the way to U18, don’t really lose the skating. Even after years of being absent from the game they are able to hop on skates and start playing again. Things are a little different if they stopped playing like most kids do, around 11-13. That skill goes away quickly without sufficient practice. Practice does make perfect.
Same thing when it comes to your hockey career. You start loosing skill if you don’t get enough exposure and repetition. At first it is a steep learning curve to get to a point where you are able to start playing. Then you start getting better with more experience and exposure. Eventually though you hit a wall, something that we call a skill plateau.
How far do you want to go in your hockey career?
Some people are fine with that achievement, it gets them out on the ice so they can play the game they love with their friends. It gets them out of the house, and they are able to participle at their level of fun. And that is OK. We are here to have fun.
But if you want to get better, you must break through the skill plateau and push yourself. It is hard to do this with one ice time a week, even two ice times are not enough. Kids that play hockey typically are on the ice 3-4 times a week. They have 3 practices to 1 game ratio ideally.
Now, of course it would be much harder to do this as an adult. Besides when you are playing in a game do you have a lot of time to practice what you want to do on the ice? Game speed is different. You don’t have as much time as you think, so it is tough to develop skills, takes longer.
What can you do?
Arrive to your ice time early, maybe earlier than needed. Warm up without getting on the ice. Get dressed and be ready to get on the ice as soon as possible. Once the zam doors are closed, be first on the ice. You will get at least 5 minutes for warm up (sometimes more depending on the ice time you are at). Work on your game. Is there a particular skill you want to hone? Work on it for the 5 minutes you have.
You can stop only on one side? Work on stopping on your weak side. You can only turn right/left? Work on the side that does not agree with you. You will get better with time and practice. Don’t worry about it, who cares what everyone else is doing or not?
That alone, three times a week will add another 15 minutes of skill development. Almost like playing a whole other game that week.
Sometimes you also have time after the game is done and the handshake complete. Use it. Be the last player off the ice. 1 minutes, 2 minutes, 5 minutes it all adds up. Who knows sometimes there is no one behind you in the schedule and the operator is not too keen on resurfacing the ice. This is your golden time to work on your game.
What else?
Play more hockey, duh! You already play once a week? Awesome, add a second, a third ice time to your mix. If you have no life or are single, ad the fourth and the fifth ice times. Play with different people, expand your hockey community. Raise your fun level!
We know someone who played seven times a week on a regular basis just to get better at the game. (of course he then had kids and has been sponsoring teams ever since).
Not every ice time has to be a league game. You can go to shinny (pickup), where the first 15 minutes are “warm up”, work on your game.
Vary the skill level you play at.
Out of the three weekly ice times you have, play one at your level, play one below your level and one above. Why? Because the one at your level gives you a gauge where you are in your hockey career. The slower one gives you time to do something, to experiment, to learn. 
The one above will push you to the edge of your ability where you have to keep up with better players, and also learn from them. There is nothing like playing with better players to improve your game, watch what they do, ask them why.
Be a sponge.
Stick with it, repetition and time will bare fruits and you too can rise to the level of fun you want in this game.
Good luck on your hockey journey!
