Learn the backhand pass: cup the puck, shift weight back to front, roll the wrists. With milestones, common mistakes and a tip for receiving on the backhand.
The backhand pass is a pass with the back of the blade: you cup the blade over the puck, sweep it across the body to a teammate and shift your weight from the back leg to the front leg. It is harder than the forehand pass, but you need it every time the puck is on your weak side [1].
The honest answer to "Do I really have to practice this that much?": yes. Hockey Canada describes the backhand pass as "very difficult" and asks for special attention to it [1]. The federation names another goal right away: in the long run you should play it without slowing down, changing direction or rotating the shoulders too much [1].
How long does it take? Until the pass arrives flat and accurate you need many repetitions on both sides. There is no fixed promise; it depends on your ice time.
How much the look before the pass matters is shown by an analysis of 22 games in the top Swedish men's and women's leagues: across 2,545 actions, scanning before reception raised the chance that the next action succeeded [2]. The effect was small, but it only costs a glance.
Prerequisites you can check yourself (practical standard, not a study):
Get into the puck-handling stance. Hands are slightly away from the body; the grip is like stickhandling and tightens during the pass [1]. The puck sits in the middle of the blade. Milestone: you roll the puck from forehand to backhand 20 times in a row without it jumping away.
Bring the puck beyond the plane of your body, weight on the back leg. Cup the blade over the puck so it sits held in like in a hollow [1]. Head up, eyes on the target. Milestone: you hold the position with the puck for 3 seconds without losing it.
Guide the blade in a smooth sweep across the body to the target. The top hand has to move in front of the body so the blade stays at a right angle to the target [1]. At the same time you shift your weight to the front leg (the one closest to the receiver) [1]. Milestone: 6 of 10 passes from 5 meters reach your partner.
At the end the wrists snap and roll and the blade follows through low to the target [1]. The length of the sweep depends on time and distance. Milestone: 8 of 10 passes arrive flat and on the blade, even from 8 meters.
Receiving is part of it: blade flat on the ice as a target, cup the puck and cushion the impact with relaxed wrists [1]. Hockey Canada drills this stepwise: forehand pass, backhand pass, receive and escape to the backhand [3]. Milestone: you receive 7 of 10 passes without a bounce.
The puck flies when you pass as well. Pass only to partners who look at you and keep the stick ready, never toward people who face away. In drills near a net keep at least 10 meters of distance, as Hockey Canada does for shooting drills [4], and let skaters moving backward practice only in an organized way. Wear a helmet with cage or visor. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training.
Play the backhand off the boards. Hockey Canada explains the board pass like this: the angle at which the puck goes into the boards equals the angle at which it comes off [1]. When an opponent stands between you and your partner, the backhand board pass is often the safe solution. Try it standing first, 3 meters from the boards, then on the move.
You cup the blade over the puck, take it beyond the body plane, sweep it across the body to the target and shift your weight from the back to the front leg. The top hand moves in front of the body, at the end the wrists snap and the blade follows through low [1].
In the backhand pass the blade lies across the body and the top hand has to move in front of the body so the blade stays at a right angle to the target. That demands more coordination than the forehand pass. Hockey Canada calls it "very difficult" [1].
Blade flat on the ice as a target, cup the puck with a slightly tilted blade and cushion the impact with relaxed wrists [1]. A brief look around beforehand helps: scanning before reception raised the chance of a successful next action among pros [2].
Until it feels as secure as your forehand, so many repetitions on both sides. There is no fixed number; a sensible start is 3 sets of 10 passes per ice session.
Angling in Ice Hockey: Steer the Puck Carrier to the Boards