New Defensive Trends in the NHL

An illustrated Q&A

Earlier this week I receive an email from Randy, a Newsletter subscriber and longtime hockey coach:

Hi Jack

Please do not feel you have to answer…I just appreciate and respect your thoughts. I am curious what is considered the norm for a couple of situations where there appears to be a fair bit of difference in the modern defensive approach compared to what we did on a very good junior team in Vancouver in the 70s.

(O denotes team with puck possession)

1) Rush sort-out:

X loses possession in the opposing zone and are moving to defensive coverage on the back check.

In my world the weak side winger ( in this case left wing) would accelerate to the opposing wide RW, work to be on the inside and slightly ahead.

The two D would work to hold a tight gap on the other 2 forwards.

The up ice forwards would come back at full speed to both add back pressure and make sure the opposing Ds are not good options.

I don’t think in todays game the wide winger moves out to the wide man. Instead I see the weak-side D keeping tabs on the wide winger, and the first forward back pressuring the puck carrier.

2) DZ netfront coverage:

In my world the D would get inside goal position on forwards, stick on stick and block access to the net, whereas now it seems that the netfront D steps in front of forwards. I’m not sure I understand the benefit.

Anyway…no problem if this is outside of my boundaries 

I sure appreciate your insight on things. As many things stay the same, a number of things have changed and I love to keep current.

Thank you,

Randy

I love hearing from old-school coaches who are open to modern ideas.

As much as hockey has changed since the 1970s, the core principles of our sport remain timeless.

Indeed, it can be helpful to rethink certain tactical choices with the benefit of experience.

1. Rush Defense

Many North-American coaches instruct their teams to clog the strong side of the side when out of possession, whether in the OZ, NZ or DZ.

As Randy notes, the first forward on the backcheck is typically asked to pressure (track) the puck carrier. The Ds play a tight gap. The remaining Fs sprint through the middle to provide back pressure. It looks something like this:

Via Hockey Tactics 2022: The Playbook

Advantages:

• Easy to teach, as it is the same as a 1-2-2 NZ forecheck

• Minimal confusion with regards to F & D responsibilities

• Possibility to force a dump-in or a turnover at the blue line with up to four players pressuring

Disadvantage:

• Vulnerable to middle plays, changes of sides and diagonal entries

COL goes from wall to dot lane to the back of the net. Notice how EDM13 tracks the puck and gets caught in no-man’s land.

COL4 uses a diagonal entry to exploit EDM’s tracking. Notice how EDM93 tracks the puck and abandons the weak side, allowing the scoring chance to occur.

As it were, the best way to neutralize speedy and skilled rush teams such as COL is the same tracking scheme that Randy used decades ago:

• Ds stay tight to each other

• First F back takes away the weak side

• Second and third Fs provide back pressure and stay above opposing Ds

Below is how I interpret this scheme, as seen in the bonus chapter of Hockey Tactics 2022: The Playbook.