Late to the party, so I guess that makes me better.
Who am I kidding, no guessing involved.
Here is
something you may find interesting.
You may also want to consider looking into
stroboscopic visual training. No, I did not make that up. It's real, and some pros have found it improves their skills.
Finally, not sure if this has been mentioned in this thread, but you don't just see a puck (whether peripherally, or occasionally glancing right at it), but you also have another (sporadic) connection to the puck - through the blade/shaft of your stick. So practice off-ice stickhandling (can use
this or
that but
not the other thing, it sucks compared to
that) with your eyes closed, concentrating on the feel in your hands. Ok, ok,
the other thing is really good for passes and more particularly saucer passes, which should be done a helluva lot more, contrary to what some NHL clubs say (looking especially at you,
Bruins).
Finally, know
when not to (exactly) stickhandle - learn the
open ice carry for when you can move through the neutral zone unchecked. You know why beginners screw it up every time? Two things, one they don't place the puck/stickblade at the 10:30 o'clock (right handed) or 1:30 o'clock (left handed) - iow not straight ahead, not straight to the side, halfway between the two just like Goldilocks likes - and two, get the back side of the stickblade facing up towards the ceiling of the rink in front of you. If you can't do that, then just
push the puck.
Or don't believe me. What do I know? I am not a doctor, I am just . . . well . . . you know . . .