TCS Vault: Brian Wiseman on Fueling Your Transition Game Through Tracking

Tracking, also known as backchecking, is effort based. That's the core idea from San Jose Sharks Assistant Coach Brian Wiseman, and it's worth letting sink in. One of the most basic, yet integral, things a team can do to find success comes down almost entirely to effort.

Since this presentation, Wiseman has continued that work in San Jose. He's entering his fifth season as a Sharks assistant in 2026, now on Head Coach Ryan Warsofsky's staff, and remains one of the most experienced voices in that coaching room. Before San Jose, he spent three seasons as an assistant with the Edmonton Oilers and eight seasons as an assistant at the University of Michigan. For more on his path and coaching philosophy, check out the Glass and Out Podcast's episode, Brian Wiseman at TCS Live.

By the end of this presentation, you'll be a believer too.

Wiseman explains why tracking matters so much. It eliminates chances against and can turn directly into transition offence. When forwards track hard, defensemen play with more confidence and more aggression, because they know help is coming. The more aggressive a defenseman can play, the more chances a team creates in transition.

Wiseman walks through the key habits of tracking, from having a good stick to playing the body, but keeps coming back to the same point: none of it matters without the effort and passion to support your teammates on defence. For a closer look at one of the roles at the center of this system, check out Laura Schuler's Finding the Details - Tracking and the Role of F3.

The final six minutes of the video shift into drills you can bring straight to your own practice to build tracking habits. Pair them with 3 Tracking Drills to Create Natural Backcheckers for even more ways to reinforce the habit on ice.

Noteworthy Timestamps:

00:40 Backstory of tracking presentation
02:40 Highlights on tracking
04:40 Tracking is all about effort
07:30 F3 Hunt in OZ
09:40 F3 Pressure Shallow NZ
14:15 F3 Soft Lock/Wedge
16:30 Track/Stand/Squeeze
20:30 Track/Sort Outs
21:45 Tracking drills