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Many current-day NHL defensemen are using a different set of rush defense tactics than their predecessors.
We call it surfing, angling, or early attachment defending.
Regardless of term, setting an early gap and matching speed while skating forward allow mobile, offensively-capable Ds to snuff out rush threats from bigger and stronger foes.
Look at how Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Scott Morrow (CAR56, in white) expertly employs early attachment in his NHL debut.
CAR56, in just his second NHL shift, neutralizes a 3v2 by surfing in from the weak side and cutting off the middle threat.
Early attachment is highly effective in rush defense. It’s also the key to success in Carolina’s man-on-man DZ scheme.
Off a DZ faceoff loss, CAR56 anticipates a pass down the wall and arrives well before the STL player can make a play.
If early attachment is so potent, then why doesn’t every NHLer use it all the time?
In a fast-paced game filled with unexpected bounces, one is not always able to get tight to the threat before the puck arrives.
In such scenarios, the defenseman must make a split-second decision.
Aggressive Read: sprint forward toward the threat and then turn at the last second to re-establish a tight gap
Conservative Read: forgo early attachment and instead absorb the rush by backing up
Despite being less effective at preventing controlled entries, absorb (or deficit) defending still has its place
Sometimes it’s the better play. Other times it’s the only play.
STL connects on a stretch pass and forces CAR56 and his partner well back. Morrow is hesitant when absorbing the rush, leading to a chance against.
For a polished early attachment defender such as Morrow, it is fitting that his only high-danger chance conceded came off a clear absorb scenario.
There’s not much to worry about. The 21-year-old rookie has time on his side, plus all the requisite tools to become a more well-rounded defender.
But what if a top-notch early attachment defenseman never quite develops a good absorb game? How will that player’s game hold up as he ages out of his physical prime?
We’ll discuss the answer next time, when we break down the New Jersey Devils’ Jonas Siegenthaler….