One of the biggest complaints I have with our D is that they hardly ever use the body to stop the opps.
Now I had blamed Q for several years for his stick-check only policy with the D...but it has not changed withe JC...still feebly waiting the stick only to try to stop opposition attacks ...
Interesting take on "today's NHL" and hitting going the way of the dodo ...On the latest Halls Talk podcast on NBC Sports Chicago you had Boden Mayers and Roumeliotis discussing the Hawks ...and I think it was Mayers who chimed in on his view that now defending in this fast NHL leaves no room for anymore hittingby down. .
I said to myself: WHAT?
I agree..to go out of your way to pound guys is risking leaving position and leaving a guy wide open as a result ..Guys are too fast to get open if you leave your spit to go make a big hit...BUT:
What about simply using your body to stop guys with the puck from releasing shots ..to stop rushes before they continue the okay to score...to impede guys who otherwise would get clear path to our net?
it seems all our D soesvis we've sticks at puck carriers with little effectiveness in stopping the play by knocking pucks off their
Sticks ...often our feeble. Stick-check attempts fail and the oops go right by us or through us and we are left confused as to how easy they got past us to our net ...Also by feebly stick-checking at our crease it seems we never defend serums well cause our sticks do not knock pucks away or we cannot even find a loose puck to whack away ...And we hardly ever stop the play from behind our net when they pass it out for a quick shot at our net .i/ we engaged pu k carriers or guys invite cress with our bodies ,this should be a lot more effective I stopping g and busting g up play Co tinuatio than the failing gflailing stick check..but instead our bodies hit nothing and they go around though or right past our stick check attempts. IT is like watching 98 lb weakiings trying to stop rushing bulls...we part the WY and let them through ..WY to easy for them.
Nobody wants to engage with their bodies I the way ..might get hurt..
This is a surrender to softness ..
So let me disagree with Mayers..there is a place for hitting ..not the BIG HIT that you go 15 feet out of your way to make to hurt the opps ircscarecth ..that I agree is taboo..but rather simply using your body to get in their path or to engage with them again st the boards ...It cannot be just pure stick-checking. THAT does not work..if is you check with your body..not the Big HIT ..but still a former of hitting because your body stops the
the play from continuing ...busts up their tI mong and their pass opportunities ..
We can't "just" do stick-check defense.
