In today’s game, talent alone won’t make you stand out as a defensemen. Coaches and scouts want players who are gritty, tough, and hard to play against. Whether you’re an offensive threat or a defensive anchor, playing with intensity and making opponents dread facing you can be the difference between riding the bench and earning top-line minutes. We’re here to breakdown the top 5 skills a defenseman needs to excel. Let’s take a look!
Puck Retrieval & First Pass
- Retrieve dumped pucks quickly and calmly taking a second to assess options.
- Make a clean first pass out of the zone.
- Good first passes make you a strong 2-way defensemen.
- Think Cale Makar, Victor Hedman, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes, Paul Coffey, & Drew Doughty!
Getting Shots Through
- Prioritize accuracy over power.
- Low, on-net shots create rebounds and scoring chances.
- Get pucks through traffic, not just hard slap shots.
- More shots on net = more ice time, power plays and points!
- Think Erik Karlsson, Brent Burns, Dougie Hamilton, Keith Yandle, Ray Bourque, & Bobby Orr!
Closing The Gap Early
- Challenge attackers at the blue line to force turnovers.
- Requires strong skating, timing, and practice.
- Prevents easy zone entries and simplifies defence.
- Tough at first, but makes a big impact.
- Think Jaccob Slavin, Devon Toews, Nicklas Lidström, & Scott Niedermayer!
Blocking Shots
- Painful but crucial.
- Yes it sucks but helps your team.
- Blocking shots energizes the team, earns trust from coaches, and leads to more penalty-kill time and overall ice time.
- Think Dan Girardi, Francois Beauchemin, Anton Volchenkov, & Travis Hamonic!
A One-On-One Menace
- Be relentless in battles – active stick, strong body positioning, hard hits (without penalties).
- Making life difficult for opponents in the corners and in front of the net.
- Think Chris Pronger, Scott Stevens, Zdeno Chara, Shea Weber, & Jacob Trouba!
Check out our Youtube video on this topic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4D_ZrGet2I
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