Young defencemen can learn a lot from how he plays.

Recently I conducted a remote coaching session with a 15-year-old aspiring NCAA Division 1 player. This young athlete considered herself a “stay-at-home” defenceman and wanted to expand her game in order to gain a bigger role on her current team and be a more attractive prospect for college recruiters.

She was surprised to learn that to be an effective two-way, top-pair D, it is not necessary to lead the rush or to attack the net individually on each shift. As I explained, the difference between “traditional” and “modern” defencemen are more subtle than one would initially suspect.

For young defencemen looking to add a new dimension to their games, there are few better inspirations than Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman, the 2020 Stanley Cup champion and Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP.

1. In the defensive zone: Win the 20-yard dash

During the Cup Final Hedman led the Lightning in time on ice, averaging 25 minutes per game in all situations . The staggering workload meant that he needed to move efficiently in order to not run out of gas late in the game.

However one moment during which he does not ration his energy is when Tampa Bay is breaking out.

Against dump-ins Hedman sprints back to get first touch, then works to get off the wall after the retrieval instead of taking the easy way out and rimming the puck up-ice. If his partner is the first skater back, Hedman (TBL77) gets moving to give the puck carrier an easy out on the strong-side or weak-side dot lane rather than stand idly and watch the play develop.

In either case the savvy Swede is quick to identify that there is a race to be won and moves his feet to grab pole position. Not only does this sense of urgency help Tampa move the puck out of the defensive zone as soon as possible, but it also helps the towering 6-foot-6 blueliner build speed and join the rush as a fourth forward.

2. In the neutral zone: Attach to the speed threat

As an offensively-minded defenceman, Hedman often finds himself caught in tricky spots up-ice as Tampa Bay fights for possession in the opponent’s half.

However rather than sprint back to the safety of the red line at the first sight of trouble, he instead quickly identifies the opposing team’s biggest offensive threat and close on that player.

Whereas a traditional defensive defenceman would take several backward crossovers and line up face-to-face with his check to gap up with the developing rush, Hedman prefers to angle his man skating forward and attach to his inside hip.

This is a precarious-looking position for the defenceman as he is even with the attacker rather than standing firm between him and the net. However this 50/50 proposition is closer to a 80/20 edge in favour of an adept mover such as Hedman, as he is sprinting without the puck and can disrupt the play with a free stick.

Against a properly attached defenceman even a Connor McDavid, a Nathan MacKinnon or a Mat Barzal would be hard-pressed to create enough separation to make a clean getaway. Meanwhile lesser players may give up on the rush and settle for a dump-and-chase play, or overreach their capabilities and turn the puck over.

3. In the offensive zone: Move & prod for weakness

Instead of holding his position at the left point and mechanically executing low-to-high, high-to-low or D-to-D plays, Hedman is looking the insinuate himself into Tampa’s fluid offensive-zone movement. He moves around the offensive zone to get available for teammates and to give opposing forwards something different to think about.

By moving off the puck and prodding the defensive zone coverage, Hedman helps the Lightning sustain offence without having to touch the puck.

Hedman is always aware of his F3’s positioning. When the last forward back is above the tops of the circles, he never hesitates to pinch down to the half-wall to keep a 50/50 play alive. When the puck is below the goal line, he occasionally moves like a rover, prowling the open space and moving through the blind spot of the defensive forwards in order to create confusion in Tampa Bay’s favour.

Against a defensive zone coverage scheme which has its wingers high and covering the points tightly, a defenceman can create a temporary advantage for their team by jumping past his/her check, skating into the high slot and demanding the puck.

Against a passive, collapsing defensive zone coverage or a 1-3 penalty kill setup, sneaking down from the point forces defenders to look over their shoulders rather than devote full attention to the low play.

4. Mentality: Let it all hang out, but keep a little something in your back pocket

At the end of our call, I stressed to my player that there is no need for her to try to do too much, even when she’s asked to carry her team.

As legendary coach Ken Hitchcock once told me, number-one defencemen in the NHL always keep a little reserve in the tank so that they can elevate when the moment calls for brilliance.

Indeed Hedman himself adjusted his game during the Cup final and began playing more conservatively against Dallas’ opportunistic offence. Throughout the six-game series, he dialled back on his puck rushing, increased his gap when defending rushes and only looked to activate in the offensive zone when Tampa was trailing.

The 2020 Stanley Cup Final didn’t need a seventh game. But no doubt Hedman would’ve been ready to play half the game if need be, all the while controlling the run of play in all three zones. His physical, technical, and tactical skillsets were up to the task, and he had just the right mindset to finish the playoffs on the strongest note.