(Transcribed from How to Play Hockey: Our Minor Hockey Coaching Course.)
This video addresses defensive coverage as a principle or concept all over the zone. We’re going to talk a lot about having a balanced defense. We need width to our defense and we need depth. So this is a pretty typical defensive zone coverage.
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Example:
- The puck is in the corner.
- D1 is in the corner.
- The C is in more of a supportive role, not right on the puck in the beginning anyways.
- We D2 in front of the net.
- We have a strong side W and a weak side W.
- Like we spoke of in a previous video the strong side W is a little bit higher a little bit tighter and closer to what would be the strong side D from the other team.
- Weak side W is more sagged in a defensive posture able to help out if something goes wrong.
- So we have some width to the attack or to the defense and we have depth. You want to think about having players in each of the lanes and being not too spread out, but covering enough area together as a unit and being able to react to different situations, because hockey is not scripted.
The puck generally never just stays in the one corner. So now let’s say the puck has switched sides on the ice to the opposite corner.
- If the puck switches sides with a pass then it’s easy for the D1 to then get to the net front.
- C to come through the middle of the ice in front of the net to now support D2 who has become strong side D.
- And D2 can focus on retrieving the puck and putting pressure on the new puck carrier.
- Weak side W slides over from his/her position of sagging in the middle lane towards the strongside.
- Strong side W now becoming the new weak side wing himself/herself into the middle of the ice sagging and the previous W was.
- It would be a mirror image of the positioning that was created on the original side of the ice when the play scenario had started.
These switches and positional changes happen all over the defensive zone. What happens if the puck is behind the net?
- We should have at least one D back there. If there’s a battle for the puck the others can’t get drawn in because we need that depth to our defense.
- So our D2 in the center should cover the post with their rear ends towards the goalie and their feet to the outside, watching behind their back, not letting any little passes come through.
- Our W’s should come down inside the prime scoring area that we’ve talked about previously, the “fort.” Sticks in the middle lane forcing any pass to stay to the outside of the ice.
- As soon as the puck goes back to one side then we would start to spread out again. We’re trying tomove together in a unit and not get all on one side of the ice and not slide down too low.
It’s quite common and you’ll see it on T.V. all the time. When the puck is in the prime scoring area you’re in trouble defensively. So it’s important that the D are battling, trying to tie up the stick man-on-man. The C is in there as well and I really believe strongly that the W should go down to help out as well.
Very often when you see a net front scramble for the puck…and when the goalie covers the puck and the ref blows the whistle often all five defensive players are in there. I get questions about this a lot of the time. Then people say, “Well, aren’t these wingers coming down too low?” And my point is the puck is in the most dangerous area of the entire ice so that would be wonderful for you to be up near your opposing D at the point and be able to say, “I had my man.” But you’re so far removed from the action that I don’t believe that these defenders are at all of threat anyways. So instead you collapse into the “fort.”
Let’s say out of a scramble they make a pass from the scramble that ends up on the stick of an opposing D at the point. The W1 must bust out of the “fort” as quickly as possible in the shooting lane, make their bodies biggest possible and either go down to block the shot or get out of here and stall or contain like we talked about in the previous video. This W2 would slide out as well. So while we condensed and collapsed like an umbrella, collapsing in front, after the puck leaves the prime scoring area, then the umbrella arms have to expand and we return to our width and depth posture.
There are a few different ways to play defense. Some teams go strictly man-on-man. So defense is part zone and part man-on-man. And in general your team will try to find a balance of the two that works best for you. At the end of the day you always have these important areas we spoke of covered. I believe right now we want to think about having width and depth and a balanced defense. It allows you to pressure the puck. It allows you to cover all areas where the puck is going to go. That’s a really important one, not just covering where the puck is but being able to be in position to react to where the puck is about to go and balance defense.
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