Defencemen have a lot of responsibility, and I’m sorry, but they don’t get enough gratitude. The goalie gets a lot of attention, positive and negative, because they’re the last line of defence. The forwards score most of the goals. Plus, they’re high maintenance, and they incorrectly believe the world revolves around them.
Let’s talk about the defence. When a coach is bellowing at their team to get more shots on net, what they’re actually requesting is the presence of the puck in the offensive zone. Think about it. If your team is spending a lot of time in the o-zone, then they’re going to have a lot of chances. So the best way to generate more shots is to go to the source.
The defence, more often than not, is responsible for starting the sequence of events that leads the puck into the offensive zone by breaking it out. Retrieve it, pass it, follow the play, join the rush, celebrate when the forwards score, and defer all the glory. It’s fine. We’re fine.
But we’re not fine. Not if we don’t move it successfully out of the zone first. Hockey is a random game, so the position of open forwards will always be unpredictable, if they’ve even bothered to come back to the d-zone in the first place.
Before we get to that, want to guess who leads the NHL in corsi percentage? (Corsi measures shot attempt differential, so if a defenceman is particularly adept at retrieving and moving the puck out of the defensive zone, then the result will be more shots at the fun end of the ice). Here's the answer.
We're going to get into habits here - I was inspired to write this post after going through TCS's U11 Competitive Minor Hockey Curriculum, which has a whole bank of practices dedicated to habits.
Scanning
The terminology varies, but I default to scanning. While the defenceman skates toward a loose puck in the corner or behind the net, they do themselves a massive favour by scanning the ice in the zone prior to retrieving the puck.
Check over your shoulder, scan the ice, and take a mental snapshot of where the open sticks are. This is a defenceman's most important function. There are a hundred other ones of course, but these are the skills that any D can use at any level and, if they're effective, they'll enjoy success and eventually more ice time.
- Retrievals (breakouts accomplished through scanning)
- Disrupting zone entries (protecting the blue or, better yet, surfing in the neutral zone to prevent the entry entirely)
- Creating offence from the offensive blue line
Each skill depens on the other, but scanning and moving the puck is universal. Below is a drill you can use, and here's 3 minutes of video evidence you can share with your defenders.
Description
- This drill is best done with a net tipped forward on its posts.
- Coach spots puck for D1 in corner, D1 scans and passes to coaches stick with no stickhandle
- Coach passes to D2 on point who walks the line and shoots
- D1 retrieves puck off the spray or rebound while D2 gets lost in the high ice
- D1 passes to D2 for second shot, D1 finds rebound and tries to score
Key Points
No dust! (Don't stickhandle) This drill is meant for the D to play fast, that means they have to shoulder check, scan, and take a mental picture of what's going on behind them before they retrieve the puck
