How are we teaching defending the net front? When you ask yourself this question and pause to reflect, you will likely have the thought "well, it depends." Like we talk about all the time in our Hockey Canada groups, everything is situational. 

If we look to address this as "What are our objectives in this situation"  (not letting the player they are in charge of defending score, or create scoring opportunities) there are a number of things to consider: Boxing out, clearing out, fronting and eliminating the offensive players stick. 

Watch how the Vegas defenders utilize their body positioning, movement on the ice and their sticks to eliminate the threat of their man to score. 

The NHL clips are followed by some basic situational drills I went through with some pro's, college and WHL players after showing and breaking down with them how the Vegas D approached each situation. I wanted them to find the best solution, based on what the offensive player is trying to do. 

During each practice, there were great on-ice discussions between the players and myself on what they were thinking, feeling and the strategies they felt most comfortable with. I encourage you to ask your players more questions when working on things like this! There is a lot for us to explore in this area