Another beer league topic

[EndBoards 0]

I'm having an issue on my team as well.. Since there are a few of these topics up now, I figure I'll ask this and let some of you more experienced guys comment..

We have a limited base of players, so our league is mixed skill. There are some outstanding guys (ex-minor league pro's) at the top and some pretty raw beginners at the bottom. On my particular team of 12, I'd rank myself 7th in ability. We have a strong group of four D-men (#1, #2, #4 and #6 on the ability chart). Problem is, #2 has only made 2 of 7 games and #4 has only made 3 games. There has only been 1 game out of 7 where all four players made it.

When my captain first called me I told him that I knew how to play D, but was horrible at it and didn't want to play back there. In spite of that, if any D-men are missing, I'm always the guy that has to play back.

I've done it with very little complaining, but sometimes I feel like I'm letting myself get walked on. That maybe I get shuffled back there because everyone else would complain more.

Honestly - I suck when I play back. I have very little feel for gap control and I'm slow skating backwards. I consistently get beaten on the outside by the puck carrier. I have a real knack for deflecting an opponent's shot or pass into my own net. I haven't kept records or anything, but I'd say at least 80% of our goals against have come with me on defense. Many of those have come due to me getting beaten one-on-one, screwing up a pass, or mis-reading a pinch. I seriously believe that we could put our weakest player back there and not be much worse off.

At wing, I'm a much better player. I skate hard, I harass and occasionally create turnovers against players that are far more skilled then me. I'm not good enough to set up my own scoring chances, but if I get the puck in a halfway decent spot I can get a quick shot off and usually score. I skate hard to get back defensively and can usually shut down the player I'm covering at the point. In fact, I usually pick out their most dangerous D-man, try to time my rotations so that I'm on the ice against him, and make it my goal to prevent him from getting a single shot on net during the game.

Sorry for all the rambling, so I'll wrap it up.. Should I speak up or something? The team is successful - In spite of regularly missing some of our best players, we're 4-1-2 and in 2nd place out of 6 teams.

Winning is great and all, but even when we win I don't really have fun playing on D. I have nothing to do with any of our scoring and usually ALOT to do with our opponents' scoring. Basically I just stay out of skater #1's way.

Any thoughts? Random comments? Pleadings for me to shut up? :lol:

[flaming_june 2]

i can play pretty much any position, except goalie, and excell at taking face offs, but whenever a d's missing i have to go back and help out. of course im a bit pissed off by it, but in reality, i dont think its a problem. think of it as conditioning for you to play better, use your edges and such better, practice better stickhandling and etc.

you can of course tawk with you cap 'n n see what he thinks, and maybe he'd understand you better.

personally i know what you feel, have gone through and still am going through such problems. however, my play either forward, or d, is what concern me when i step on the ice, not where i play.

[toroytorero 0]

I'm new to a team this league and they have me playing D. I can skate backwards pretty well but I'm a little out of sorts on position..though the more I play the better I understand. anyhow I would prefer play forward myself but since Im new to the team I didn't complain..and Im not going to ...though I must admit our offense isn't very good so we have a green light to join the rush which makes things a bit better plus I get more minutes playing D.... so there are some good things to playing D. but if they asked..... LW

[jay 1]

I think you should accept the fact that you're going to be relied upon to be a defensmen on this team and make the best of it. Thinking about how much better you could do as a forward isn't going to make your team win anymore games. I used to play forward but ended up being relied upon for D duties just because I was the best that was left. Instead of complaining or feeling shortchanged I took the approach of it being a great learning opportunity. So start to concentrate on hustling back, closing the gaps, looking at the attacking forward in the chest, and playing the body and make the best of it. Before you know it you might just be a better defensemen then you ever were a forward. It's all about the attitude.

[iceholes 0]

If you are new...play where they need you....

You can always take teh captain aside.. and tell him you are much more comfy at forward and feel you can help more there.... Be honest with him and explain your frustration....He should be receptive and do whats best for teh team either way...

[Chadd 916]

I've been playing a lot of defense this year and for some reason I just haven't been comfortable, probably due to the amount time I'm not spending on the ice between games. I just try to create more chances with my outlet passes than I give up by being a turnstyle this season.

[freq019 0]

I think if someone on you team thought you sucked at D they would ask if you wanted to play up. The way I see it you're doing them a favor by playing back and it sounds like they appreciate it. When I used to skate up I never touched the puck and I got a third of the ice time I get now in back and I touch the puck every shift I am out there, so I don't mind playing D any more, and I actuall prefer it.

[freq019 0]

A side question and not meant to hijack the thread but why is it no one ever wants to play D? Like I said in my previous post, you get a lot of puck time and ice time, get to crank shots at the forwards not wearing full pads, get to clear the crease, work the corners, what's not to like :D

[ktang 34]

A side question and not meant to hijack the thread but why is it no one ever wants to play D? Like I said in my previous post, you get a lot of puck time and ice time, get to crank shots at the forwards not wearing full pads, get to clear the crease, work the corners, what's not to like :D

Some of the reasons I can think of:

- No glory (points)

- All the blame (when the other team scores or when a forward gets by you).

- Skating backwards; a lot of beer leaguers have top-of-the-line skates but can't skate backwards, so it's embarassing to them.

- Forwards don't back-check, so the Ds are all alone.

- Getting hit by point shots from the other team's Ds.

[freq019 0]

- No glory (points)

True but its beer league they're lucky we're keeping score, but you're right getting an assist is tough a second is near impossible. This is probably the reason for the other beer league thread

- All the blame (when the other team scores or when a forward gets by you).

that's what goalies are for ;)

- Skating backwards; a lot of beer leaguers have top-of-the-line skates but can't skate backwards, so it's embarassing to them.

true

- Forwards don't back-check, so the Ds are all alone.

true

- Getting hit by point shots from the other team's Ds.

I like to call that blocking shots, honestly most guys in my league can't even lift the puck so its not so much of a worry but playing with ex-D1 or Jr guys that would be a problem

edit some horrible grammar and misspellings

[Chadd 916]

A side question and not meant to hijack the thread but why is it no one ever wants to play D?  Like I said in my previous post, you get a lot of puck time and ice time, get to crank shots at the forwards not wearing full pads, get to clear the crease, work the corners, what's not to like :D

Some of the reasons I can think of:

- No glory (points)

- All the blame (when the other team scores or when a forward gets by you).

- Skating backwards; a lot of beer leaguers have top-of-the-line skates but can't skate backwards, so it's embarassing to them.

- Forwards don't back-check, so the Ds are all alone.

- Getting hit by point shots from the other team's Ds.

You forgot forwards that never pass the puck back to the point. ;)

[freq019 0]

A side question and not meant to hijack the thread but why is it no one ever wants to play D?  Like I said in my previous post, you get a lot of puck time and ice time, get to crank shots at the forwards not wearing full pads, get to clear the crease, work the corners, what's not to like :D

Some of the reasons I can think of:

- No glory (points)

- All the blame (when the other team scores or when a forward gets by you).

- Skating backwards; a lot of beer leaguers have top-of-the-line skates but can't skate backwards, so it's embarassing to them.

- Forwards don't back-check, so the Ds are all alone.

- Getting hit by point shots from the other team's Ds.

You forgot forwards that never pass the puck back to the point. ;)

That's true WTF?? would it kill you guys to give us some love? I mean even after we give you some money breakout passes which require you to not even broach the defensive zone, you could at least throw a bone our way every once in awhile.

[EndBoards 0]

Ok, thanks for the thoughts guys.. Sorry I kinda posted this & vanished, I've been busy..

My captain actually volunteered to me that when our guys show up, I'll be up front.. So now I know that he's aware of me wanting to play up.. That alone made me feel a little better about the situation and not as much like I'm being walked on..

We've only got 4 regular season games left, so I'm pretty well resigned to the fact that I'll be playing back. Hopefully I'll be pleasantly suprised and our guys will show up allowing me to play wing or center. Hopefully I'll get into a better situation next session..

As far as some of the other questions..

- No glory (points)

For me, it's not so much points on the scoresheet as it is contributing. I'm not skilled enough in this league to contribute much on D. I make up for a lack of skill by hustling. At forward, my hustle causes havoc and an occasional scoring chance. At D, I just hustle myself out of position.

- All the blame (when the other team scores or when a forward gets by you).

Our league is pretty relaxed. We help out the beginners, but I've never seen anyone on any team get upset when someone makes a mistake that results in a G.A... Now, personally I'm pretty hard on myself. I get pissed when I screw up or get beaten - even if it is from a great player that I have no chance to stop..

- Skating backwards; a lot of beer leaguers have top-of-the-line skates but can't skate backwards, so it's embarassing to them.

I'm ok at skating backwards in transition. What kills me is the small backwards movements in the D zone. I fall alot when I'm trying to react to stuff happening near the crease.

- Forwards don't back-check, so the Ds are all alone.

Yes, Yes, Yes. Forwards are in really deep, then lose the puck and just cruise back wating for us to pass to them. When I'm up front, I always, always backcheck. Guys who have never played D just don't understand how much it helps for them to at least slow down a fast skater. Even if you're a step or two behind him, it limits the space he has to turn in and makes the D's job much easier..

- Getting hit by point shots from the other team's Ds.

That's not too big of a deal to me, because I block shots at forward too. The consequences in my league are pretty big though, because we have some heavy shots. One guy in our league was good enough to go to an NHL training camp several years ago. I stepped up and got drilled by his slapper right in the middle of my shinpad. I still had a huge welt/bruise on my shin.. Last night, I got popped by a hard slapper right in the lower chest. My shoulder pads saved my bacon on that..

[Crazy Otto 0]

Why not ask a forward to split a game with you? You play periods 1 & 3 on D and period 2 as F, then the next game you play periods 1 & 3 on F and 2 on D.

I also believe playing D will make you a better all-around player. You might not ever truly enjoy it or feel comfortable doing it. But you will earn the respect of your teammates for making the effort. As a F I have always respected guys who play where the team needs them most. I try to play D whenever I can in pickup games and try to learn the position. I'm still horrible at it but I have improved.