His game includes deception and timing plays to fool the opponent.

Although he has received nominations in the past few seasons, Mark Stone has never won the Frank J. Selke Award. A second-place finish in votes is the closest the Vegas Golden Knights winger has come to grabbing the trophy. But even if Stone hasn’t been appointed the best defensive forward in hockey yet — it’s an honour that seems reserved for centremen — you would be hard-pressed finding many other forwards who exhibit the same level of skill on the defensive side of the game.

Similar to strong shutdown forwards, Stone limits the offensive threat of the opposition through keen positioning and sound puck management. But what separates the winger from his competition is his ability to intercept passes, to launch his team on the attack with well-timed stick placements. It’s an ability all young players should strive to learn. 

Stone is not content reducing risks by reacting to the moves of attackers. By reading systems, shoulder checking, and using deception, he dictates the flow of the play and sets up traps in which attackers can’t help but fall for.

1. Reading systems

Great puck snatchers come prepared for their games. They know the other team’s system and their own; they know which defensive positions they have to fill and the tendencies of opponents. By skating in the right spots at the right times, they capitalize on the pressure applied by teammates and collect the puck as it’s funeled to them.

In the video below, on the forecheck, Stone recognizes that an opposing defenceman is forced to attempt a strong-side breakout. He heads to the wall as F2 and steals the pass.

In the next clips, Stone quickly attaches himself to an attacker after a turnover. He skates inside the passing lane and gets rewarded with the puck. 

2. Shoulder-checking

Shoulder-checking is key to tracking movements of opponents, and in turn, to intercept passes. Many scoring chances can be stopped with a quick peek towards hidden ice and a change of stick positioning. 

It comes down to reaction time. If defenders only watch the opposing carrier, they can’t move their stick fast enough to react to deceptive plays, like a change of pass angle. A defender who has shoulder checked prior to such a deceptive move knows the position of opponents and where to position her stick.  The player has a much better chance of blocking a pass in time. 

Players are quicker to process and stop plays they expect. 

Mark Stone always scans his surroundings. He builds a mental map of the ice so that no play surprises him. In the video above, as he identified off-puck threats, Stone foresees opposing passes, deflects them away, or catches them mid-flight. He transforms his defensive turnovers into offence. 

3. Deception and timing

Positioning and shoulder-checking represent the foundation of a great defensive game. Once that foundation becomes solid enough, through repetitions in practices and game-play, it can support more advanced puck-stealing tactics.

Because of his high level of awareness, Stone can give opposing puck carriers false choices of options. He plays tricks, like purposely leaving a lane open for opponents to use. Why? To dictate the flow of the play and direct it that way. By giving attackers an outlet — a good one — Stone compels them to take it. When they do, he poaches the puck. 

Many players extend their stick as far as they can to deny passes, but the Golden Knight keeps it sheathed. His right hand, the one holding the top of his stick, hides the length of it by resting near his hip. The tucked-in stick makes opponents feel they have more space to maneuver than they do in reality. When they initiate a pass, Stone’s right-hand darts or slams the ice, removing the space and cutting the play. 

The winger’s ambushes wouldn’t work without an ability to angle attackers and a great sense of timing. To invite them into a trap, Stone has to close all other escapes, which means not directly skating at opponents, but approaching them in an arc and forcing them in a chosen direction. He also has to time his steals perfectly. If he strikes too early, he reveals his intentions. Too late? The puck slides by him. 

When you dig deeper, the depth of skill of the defensive game rivals the one of the offensive game. One of the most fun parts of hockey is feinting and beating opponents. And it’s entirely possible to do it without the puck, too.

Coaches should teach their young players the fundamentals of defence, positioning and awareness, but also spend time exploring how those abilities, mixed with deception and timing, can lead their teams to trap opponents — like Stone does every game night.