A good posture is the foundation of many different skills.

Quite often, to find the good defenders on a team, all you need is a picture of them standing in the defensive zone. A picture doesn’t allow you to judge a player’s rotations or anticipation, but it reveals a crucial element of defensive play: posture.

A good posture is the foundation of many different skills. A player who maintains tension through their body, bends their knees and ankles, and centres their weight over the middle of their skates, earns a significant advantage over one who stands passively, straight-legged.

There are multiple benefits of a low, athletic stance:

• Increased defensive range
• Help correct mistakes
• Improved reaction time
• Creating more leverage

Let’s go through those elements one by one.

1. Increasing defensive range

The defensive range is an imaginary circle around a player. That circle delimitates the area that this player can reach in approximately two seconds. The better the stance, the larger the circle becomes.

Why? Because a deeper posture creates more potential for acceleration. It allows players to cover more ground and do so faster, to rapidly influence, and break plays on a larger area of the surface.

A great posture, like the one of Minnesota Wild defenceman Jonas Brodin in the video above, enables players to dash toward an opponent to separate them from the puck when they commit to a move, when their head drops or their back turns to the play. It also enables defenders to rapidly reposition to cut passing lanes and make plays outside of their immediate responsibility, like doubling the pressure on an imbalanced opponent.

Off the rush, that deeper posture translates to more agility; defenders can better match and cut-off attackers, retaining speed in their pivot as they transition to in-zone defence.  

2. Correcting mistakes

Despite players’ best intentions, mistakes inevitably happen on the ice. As long as they are corrected fast, however, you can usually minimize their impact. Defenders in a ready, athletic posture can better recover from their own errors or those made by their teammates.

They can adapt, rotate, and clog holes in the team’s structure before it sinks. 

In the clip above, Montreal Canadiens forward Tyler Toffoli is the weak-side defensive winger. He stands at the top of the zone and foresees an attacker escaping from his teammates on the far boards. As he adopted a low, speed-retaining posture, a simple lateral cut on his edges is enough for him to block the attacker’s path.

3. Improving reaction time

A strong defensive stance locks players in a ready state. It improves their reaction time and slows down the game for them.

Straight-legged defenders have to anticipate and proactively react to the move of the opposition as to not get instantly beat. They are more susceptible to deception and to large overcorrections, which can make the situation worse.

Defenders with more knee-flexion gain a bit more time to react. They can out-wait an attacker’s attempt to deceive, let the gap close, and counter the real play. They can also leave a passing lane open for a split-second to bait opponents into using it, their dynamic posture enabling them to quickly reposition inside it to intercept the puck.

Here, Team Russia defenceman Alexander Romanov is pitted against two attackers on his side of the ice. He blocks the shooting lane of the puck carrier with his body, but doesn’t overcommit; he gets even lower on his stance, increases his defensive range, and out-waits the fake. When the opposing carrier switches to his real play, a pass to his teammate standing at the far-post, Romanov extends his stick and deflects the puck away.

Overall, a deeper stance allows defenders to better read and dictate the flow of the play, to funnel it where desired, and trap attackers.

4. Gaining more leverage

An athletic position or a lower centre of gravity allows players to get more leverage, balance, and strength in one-on-one battles. Defenders become more compact and harder to move while improving their own ability to displace opponents, to box out them out from the front of the net, take away their sticks, and pin them on the boards.

Players who dominate the physical game often force the opposition to change their offensive plans, to take new, less-effective routes to bypass the threat of pins and hits.

Watch Team Canada (Red) defenceman Kaiden Guhle in the video below execute a perfect pin. He approaches the player in a low stance, with his knees bent, which allows him to apply pressure on the hips of the opponent, gluing him to the wall.

Shift length

We can’t talk about dynamic posture without mentioning shift length.

Maintaining constant tension through the body drains energy faster. The longer the shift, the more straight-legged players get, especially in the defensive zone. As a result, their defensive gap enlarges and the opposition gains the time and space to continue their cycle, which further fatigues defenders, leading to breakdowns.

All in all, by promoting short shifts and, in turn, dynamic postures for their players, coaches will help them maximize their defensive recovery and effectiveness.