"Nobody's a natural. You work hard to get good and then work to get better. It's hard to stay on top." (Paul Coffey)
"Hockey's a funny game. You have to prove yourself every shift, every game. It's not up to anybody else. You have to take pride in yourself." (Paul Coffey)

To become a good hockey player, you should feel as comfortable and secure in skates on the ice as you are in shoes on the ground.
Modern hockey is a very fast and dynamic sport. Hockey players have to perform difficult technical and tactical combinations with "stop & go" rhythm, fast turns, accelerations and various other manoeuvres.
Once you've learned how to skate with confidence, you will gain so much time to focus on the tactical and strategic parts of the game, as your skates seem to "just skate by themselves".