As a general statement about athleticism, the upper/lower body should be separated. To oversimplify:
The lower body works on locomotion.
The upper body works on playing hockey.
Foundational Puckhandling Technique
Great puck handling allows players to control, protect, and make the next play with the puck, by allowing your hands to do the work.
Separating a player’s hands from their body does a few key items:
Increased range of motion
More times to release passes
Let’s take a look at what this looks like in practice":
Example 1 (Separate) vs example 2 (Attached)
Hands Separate
Hands Attached (and move the player’s feet dramatically)
If you’re working toward developing great puckhandling, start at the foundation of separating upper/lower body and letting your hands do the work.
Further Reading