1-on-1 defensive play as a forward

[rh71]

This is not about a defenseman playing 1-on-1 on a rush into your own zone, but it can still apply. From a forward's mentality, this has always been difficult to learn/teach. Some players are really good at reading the forward and getting in lanes or even stealing the puck in the neutral zone or high in the D-zone. Players who come to mind are Datsyuk or even a Mike Grier who used to intercept passes with consistency and go the other way.

I've heard not to look at anything but the waist, stick on puck and body on body. Is there more to playing a good defensive game transitioning to offense as a forward? Do we want to purposely pressure/manipulate the forward toward one side? Leave a lane open and close it down?

On the forecheck in the O-zone when the other team has the puck, does the same apply? I realize it may be a team positioning thing too, but I feel like a lot can be accomplished one-on-one also.

Click to read more...

 

[Cursed Lemon]

All types of defending rest on the foundational assertion that you, as the defending player, have the upper hand - from there, it's all about either baiting the attacking player into making the move that you want him to make, or intimidating him into taking a safer/less effective choice. Remember, when you see a defender get burned, 99.9% of the time it's because the attacking player had speed on him. If you're traveling at the same momentum as the attacking player, your body alone cripples his options, nevermind your stick. This is why the best hockey players are ones that can properly cycle the puck and find open spaces quickly and fluidly, rather than just brute force their way through the defense.

So no, I wouldn't say there's "more to it" on an individual level. Assuming roughly equal skill/ability level between squads, what needs to be avoided is coverage breakdown on the team level.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

The first thing I do when I defend as a forward is try to force the opponent to go wide, towards the board. Usually I'm able to knock the puck away because the forward has nowhere else to go. Pay attention to handedness as well, if you're in the middle of the ice, you want to force the player to go on his backhand.

 

[puckpilot]

It's simple and complicated all at the same time. But for me, it boils down to taking away time and space. Take away their A option and only give them B.

Now how you go about doing this changes depending on your team and the other team's skill level and stuff like that.

Here's is a simplified way of how I looking at things.

When on the defensive, if the other player's speed and skills are equal or better than mine, then I have to watch my gap control a lot more. I have to pick my spots on when to go aggressive on them and when to back off.

But generally, I angle them them towards the boards giving them less and less space. The quicker I can do this the better. It gives them less time to figure out the best play. If I can get inside on them, boom, it's at the very least a lose puck, but generally, it's probably a turn over.

If their skill and speed are lesser than mine, then I tend to go aggressive on them as an automatic, because if I make a mistake, chances are I'll be able to recover or throw them off enough where they'll still cough up the puck.

On the forecheck, if their speed and skill are better, then again, I have to be careful when to go on the hard forecheck and when to back off. If I'm backing off, I try take away the choice passing lanes and only give them the less desirable ones. I make them execute in order to beat me. And in beer league, execution is rarely perfect.

If their speed and skill are less than mine, I go hard on the forecheck almost always and try to force a hard turn over. The less time they have to make a decision, the more likely that decision will be a bad one, especially when a player isn't that skilled. I'll either be able to get inside on them and separate them from the puck, or they'll make a bad pass.

It can be a lot more complicated than this, but that's my basic philosophy.