Why Did Bobby Orr Play Defense?

[Canadiens1958]

From his youth hockey days, pre Junior, bantam and back, Bobby Orr played defense. Why? How did the decision to play Bobby Orr on defense change the game?

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[Big Phil]

That was his strength from day one I guess. I don't know the story to be honest as to why. But I know from hearing different stories from different goalies like Bower and Esposito, they were put in there because they were the "worst" guys on the ice. That was the attitude. You can't skate, just stand in net.

Maybe there is an original story like that with Orr, I don't know. Maybe a coach or his dad saw is strength in being able to control the pace of a game and felt defense was his best option since he could control it better there

 

[hfboardsuser]

I believe it's because he was the smallest kid on the team, so they figured they'd stick him there. That of course runs contradictory to the decades-old fascination with giant D, but there are a couple of other examples even today of this (Matt Gilroy).

 

[Axxellien]

I believe it's because he was the smallest kid on the team, so they figured they'd stick him there. That of course runs contradictory to the decades-old fascination with giant D, but there are a couple of other examples even today of this (Matt Gilroy).

Well, that would be contradictory, he was always the smallest & youngest player on any team because of his obvious talent! Orr always said that he enjoyed starting and setting up and quarterbacking an offensive play from it's inception, it's genesis, as did many other defensemen; Bobby just pushed it to the max! Bobby Orr playing Defense made him the complete, ultimate 2 way forward!

 

[reckoning]

It's mentioned in Searching For Bobby Orr that Bucko McDonald thought Orr would be best as a defenceman, though Orr's father thought he should be a forward.

"Looking at Bobby Orr, Bucko McDonald should've drawn a logical simple conclusion. A kid built like that, with those skills, had to be a forward..... He could carry the puck, shoot, pass, score. Slot him in as a winger or centre and he'd dominate the game up front...But when he saw Bobby Orr, scrawny, skilled, a natural skater, stickhandler, scorer, he still saw a defenceman, but not a defenceman the likes of which the game had ever known."

- Searching For Bobby Orr pgs.32-33​

 

[Canadiens1958]

Perhaps .................

Perhaps readers should focus on the second question - changes that were brought about to the game of hockey.

 

[member 51464]

I wish I had the chance to see Bobby Orr play live

 

[dafoomie]

It was so he could be on the ice for 30+ minutes instead of 20.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Same Result

It was so he could be on the ice for 30+ minutes instead of 20.

Same result or more ice time could be obtained by double shifting a player who plays forward.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Wish

I wish I had the chance to see Bobby Orr play live

I wish everybody did.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

Would Paul Coffey have been allowed to do what he did if Orr didn't pave the way? The fact that Orr still took care of the defensive side of things, despite his style, had to be a major reason that none of his coaches put a stop to it.

And once the mold was broken, it became acceptable for other guys to play that way, even if they didn't necessarily take care of a defenseman's traditional first duty.

 

[Analyzer*]

It was so he could be on the ice for 30+ minutes instead of 20.

Did Phil Esposito play 30 minutes a game anyways ?

 

[cupface52]

Possibly his skating?

Generally, the best skating players, are defensemen, and I don't mean quickest/most explosive(those are usually wingers). Anything considered a skating skill, from conditioning to speed to lateral skating to agility. Or has that been generally the rule since Bobby Orr?

 

[Stray Wasp]

once the mold was broken, it became acceptable for other guys to play that way, even if they didn't necessarily take care of a defenseman's traditional first duty.

This is one of two reasons I've read in passages suggesting that Orr's legacy is a double-edged sword. The other was that too many young defensemen became obsessed with rushing the puck out of their own zone instead of passing. Not that Orr can be blamed for lesser players aping one aspect of his game whilst overlooking the bigger picture.

It wasn't just that Orr changed the way many people approached defense- he did it on the cusp of a very fluid era when hockey was looking to expand in new markets. How big an impact does the rise of the offensive-minded defenseman have on the expansion of the league in the 70s, the WHA and the merger of 79? The 80s might have been less laden with goals. Which raises the question of how the league would have looked at Sun Belt expansion and whether there'd have been such an extreme swing to "dead puck" hockey in the mid 90s.

All that assumes that without Orr the role of defenseman isn't revolutionised. Maybe if it hadn't been him it would have been someone else, albeit to much less dramatic effect.

 

[Axxellien]

I recall Norris winner,Chicago BlackHawk Pierre Pilote being very active on both sides of the blueline.....

 

[Stray Wasp]

The trick isn't to be the first to do something, it's to be the first to do it in a way that captures people's imaginations. I've read Sprague Cleghorn described as a rushing defenseman but we don't have TV pictures of him storming up the ice like Orr.

Slightly OT but does Orr cite any particular players as being an influence upon his style of play?

 

[Canadiens1958]

Bobby Hull

I recall Norris winner,Chicago BlackHawk Pierre Pilote being very active on both sides of the blueline.....

True but it was Bobby Hull who rushed end to end with the puck and Stan Mikita who would circle back to pick up the puck and start rushes.

The breakaway or outlet pass that was used by the Canadiens - J.C. Tremblay was not a major part of Pilote's game or even Orr's game. BTW, during his youth hockey days J.C. Tremblay played forward.

Posters should consider how the opposition played against Bobby Hull and other superstar forwards.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Eras

The trick isn't to be the first to do something, it's to be the first to do it in a way that captures people's imaginations. I've read Sprague Cleghorn described as a rushing defenseman but we don't have TV pictures of him storming up the ice like Orr.

Slightly OT but does Orr cite any particular players as being an influence upon his style of play?

True but consider one very important factor. Sprague Cleghorn played in the pre forward pass era. Breakaway or outlet type passing was not possible.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Television

This is one of two reasons I've read in passages suggesting that Orr's legacy is a double-edged sword. The other was that too many young defensemen became obsessed with rushing the puck out of their own zone instead of passing. Not that Orr can be blamed for lesser players aping one aspect of his game whilst overlooking the bigger picture.

It wasn't just that Orr changed the way many people approached defense- he did it on the cusp of a very fluid era when hockey was looking to expand in new markets. How big an impact does the rise of the offensive-minded defenseman have on the expansion of the league in the 70s, the WHA and the merger of 79? The 80s might have been less laden with goals. Which raises the question of how the league would have looked at Sun Belt expansion and whether there'd have been such an extreme swing to "dead puck" hockey in the mid 90s.

All that assumes that without Orr the role of defenseman isn't revolutionised. Maybe if it hadn't been him it would have been someone else, albeit to much less dramatic effect.

Consider that Bobby Orr started playing youth hockey soon after the start of televised hockey, "Hockey Night in Canada", and its many influences on the game, not only on the way it was popularized but also on the way it was played and coached at the youth level.

 

[lextune]

Did Phil Esposito play 30 minutes a game anyways ?

At least....

 

[David Bruce Banner]

Possibly his skating?

Generally, the best skating players, are defensemen, and I don't mean quickest/most explosive(those are usually wingers). Anything considered a skating skill, from conditioning to speed to lateral skating to agility. Or has that been generally the rule since Bobby Orr?

I think you are on to something. I was quite young when he played, but I remember him being able to skate backwards faster than many guys could skate forwards.

 

[DustyMartellaughs]

To pave the way for Derian Hatcher?

 

[Mr Pipe]

Slightly OT but does Orr cite any particular players as being an influence upon his style of play?

I know from reading the Searching for Bobby Orr book that one of his favorite players when he was 14 was Tim Horton. He was being interviewed and the interviewer asked which players he likes watching. He said Tim Horton and someone on the Canadiens, but I can't remember. The interviewer commented on how it was interesting that Orr looked up to a rookie defenseman (Horton was a rookie at the time) and asked what it was about Horton that he liked. Orr said that he just "likes the way he plays the game."

 

[pappyline]

I know from reading the Searching for Bobby Orr book that one of his favorite players when he was 14 was Tim Horton. He was being interviewed and the interviewer asked which players he likes watching. He said Tim Horton and someone on the Canadiens, but I can't remember. The interviewer commented on how it was interesting that Orr looked up to a rookie defenseman (Horton was a rookie at the time) and asked what it was about Horton that he liked. Orr said that he just "likes the way he plays the game."

Couldn't have been Horton as he was a rookie in 52-53 when Orr was only 4.

 

[reckoning]

I know from reading the Searching for Bobby Orr book that one of his favorite players when he was 14 was Tim Horton. He was being interviewed and the interviewer asked which players he likes watching. He said Tim Horton and someone on the Canadiens, but I can't remember. The interviewer commented on how it was interesting that Orr looked up to a rookie defenseman (Horton was a rookie at the time) and asked what it was about Horton that he liked. Orr said that he just "likes the way he plays the game."

I believe the other player was Terry Harper.