A good stride starts with your knees bent and a good push. You want this push to be in between straight back and straight out to the side. so somewhere around that 45 degree angle to the rear, or the southwest if you like the orientation of a compass, or 7:30 if you like the clock aspect, whichever you choose.
As you can see, his foot is turned with his toe facing outward, and it is the last thing to leave the ice, his toe that is.When you push out, fully extend your leg, then finally push off with your toe. This will make your leg completely extended, with that toe point giving you your drive.
As you push off with that foot and bring it back to the recovery position, you want to keep it low, about 2-4 inches from the ice. This will minimize the energy lost while skating, and help you take longer shifts, and not be as tired when you get to the bench because you have been kicking your feet up past your own knee.This leg drive and recovery is the most important thing when playing. After all, if you can't skate what else are you going to do out on the ice.
Breaking this down, we can see that it is a sequence of events that make up the stride:
1. Start with your feet next to each other, under your shoulders.
2. Turn your foot(left or right, does not matter) and turn it with the toe slightly outwards.
3. Push off with that foot back at that southwest direction as mentioned earlier.
4. when your leg is fully extended, push off with your toe and point it back and in line with your leg.
5. Bringing that foot back about 2-4 inches from the ice to underneath your shoulders, next to your other one.
6. Shift your weight form one foot to the next and do the same steps as before.
A good stride is something that will come with practice, so try to work on these things in practice. you will be rewarded in game situations when you need to beat an opponent to a puck.
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