Importance of defensman handedness

[beanmachine]

With the draft coming up I have been seeing people say if the habs end up drafting boqvist it would be unfortunite considering the habs right side is far stronger than the left, but say he slotted into the top line with Weber one day and moved Weber to the left side would he really be less effective? What is your thoughts on the importance of a righty playing right and vice versa?

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[Vachon23]

I think that it's started with Team Canada 2014 but before, it was not really a thing that we talked

 

[Adam Michaels]

I think it depends on the coach. Babcock is open about his desire to have left shooting defensemen on the left side and right shooting ones on the right.

Other coaches don't mind it because there are a lot of defensemen who can play both sides.

However, I don't see Weber being moved to the left. If Habs do their due diligence, they'll know if Boqvist can play the left side.

But I see them favouring a left handed defenseman, like Hughes, over Boqvist.

 

[Le Tricolore]

Honestly, I don't think it's a huge deal. Some players are better on the left versus the right, but if you're good enough to be in the NHL, chances are you're at least competent on your off side. If we don't bother drafting a great player because of the way he holds his stick, that would be really silly.

 

[WeThreeKings]

Depends on the player. A highly skilled defenseman isn't really going to have an issue playing their "off side"

Essentially it just means whether or not you're taking the puck off the boards on your back hand, whether or not you have an easier time putting the puck off the glass and out..

In the offense zone, being on your off-side is more threatening because you are open for a one-timer.. but, if a bad pass comes to the point and you pinch, you are not on your strong side.

Long story short.. a defenseman playing his off side with the Montreal Canadiens? Kings of the mundane. Aversion to skill. Terrified of the concept of a small amount of risk? There won't be a defenseman playing their off-side if they can help it.

 

[Adam Michaels]

Depends on the player. A highly skilled defenseman isn't really going to have an issue playing their "off side"

Essentially it just means whether or not you're taking the puck off the boards on your back hand, whether or not you have an easier time putting the puck off the glass and out..

In the offense zone, being on your off-side is more threatening because you are open for a one-timer.. but, if a bad pass comes to the point and you pinch, you are not on your strong side.

Long story short.. a defenseman playing his off side with the Montreal Canadiens? Kings of the mundane. Aversion to skill. Terrified of the concept of a small amount of risk? There won't be a defenseman playing their off-side if they can help it.

Unless their names are Benn or Schlemko. Talents of that caliber can suck on both sides. So it doesn't really matter.

 

[Captain Mountain]

Handedness is absolutely important for defencemen. I'm not sure its THAT important that it must be followed to the tee, but unless you can somehow build a D core with a bunch of elite players, Left-Right D pairs perform better than Left-Left or Right-Right D pairs.

I wouldn't move Weber or Boqvist to the Left. At any rate, Boqvist isn't Dahlin, he could be amazing, but by the time he's ready to be an impact NHLer (or if he can become an impact NHLer), Petry's contract will be up and he'll replace him as puck mover on the right side.

 

[Laurentide]

Ultimately it doesn't matter whether the guy is left or right handed so long as he has a good attitude. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don't have the right attitude it's not going to work.

At least that's what I've been told...

 

[JianYang]

Robidas was a player who had a good start to his NHL career. They put him on his off side the following year, and it came with disasterous results.

It really depends on the player.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I think that it's started with Team Canada 2014 but before, it was not really a thing that we talked

Wth?

It's been talked about for decades.


Puck retrieval and puck clearing is more effective with the stick side to it's corresponding side. It has ALWAYS been this way and it's been talked about for a long time.

 

[Sorinth]

It's an important aspect, but not important enough to decide whether to draft someone or not.

 

[Habs100]

With the draft coming up I have been seeing people say if the habs end up drafting boqvist it would be unfortunite considering the habs right side is far stronger than the left, but say he slotted into the top line with Weber one day and moved Weber to the left side would he really be less effective? What is your thoughts on the importance of a righty playing right and vice versa?

If the best player that we can aquire, be it at the draft or UFA, is a right handed dman, grab him!

We need all the assets we can get and can trade players from a position of abundance. What we aren't in a position to do is pass on top talent.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Ultimately it doesn't matter whether the guy is left or right handed so long as he has a good attitude. You can have all the talent in the world but if you don't have the right attitude it's not going to work.

At least that's what I've been told...

If they had the right attitude they would learn to 'switch hit'

 

[Favster]

I think the most important factor is in the O zone. If a D isn't playing on his strong side, it forces him to to get the puck deep, or control the puck at the blue line, against the boards with his backhand. Other teams can adapt to this and converge quickly to that side to regain puck possession. It's a small detail but I'm sure having D's on their strong side does lead to longer attacking periods. If I were a coach, I would definitely want my defensemen on their strong side at 5 vs 5.

 

[Kudo Shinichi]

A guy on the main board said Boqvist prefers playing the left side

 

[beanmachine]

A guy on the main board said Boqvist prefers playing the left side

didnt know this, im pretty high on boqvist this just makes me like him more