positioning question

[ultraman7k 0]

as a winger, i'm pretty sure my responsibility lies in playing D and covering the point man up high.

question is, should i stick around the point even when the play is downlow, or should i get into it, and try to hustle back as the pass goes to the point?

[Crazy Otto 0]

As a winger, you have to back check to take away the odd man rush. If your team's D gets caught in the offensive zone, back check all the way down the ice to break up the rush, but once the rush is broken up and your d-men get back into position in the defensive zone, your job is to cover the point.

[sonsplayhockey 0]

I don't know how many times our Bear League wingers would get sucked way in the corners going after the puck only for the other team to flip it along the boards to the D at the point then nail a slap shot. I tend to backcheck to keep one of the other team out of the play when they are on the rush then as thier D shows up I try to get back and cover keeping the D man on my side and the puck both in my field of vision. But if the puck carrier comes close I'll join in and typically go for his stick instead of the puck and let my D go for the puck. I just find it easier to go for the stick instead of the puck.

On our team we have a basic system that my better 2 lines actually follow. Wingers forecheck and backcheck as hard as they can trying to force a pass. Center tends to cover the center ice when the other team has the puck in thier zone during the breakout.

[EndBoards 0]

As a forward you defend in three ways, forechecking, in transition, and in your own zone.. You'll do different things in each of those situations..

Forechecking - One guy attacks the puck carrier forcing him to pass, the 2nd guy positions himself to take away the best passing option the third hangs around in the NZ and tries to slow things down when/if a successful outlet pass occurs. When a line is playing well together, each of the three forwards will quickly recognize which of the three roles he needs to jump into based on where the puck and his linemates are.

Transition - The first priority is to help with numbers. If they have an odd man rush, find someone and cover him. If numbers are even, keep them even. Stay with your man even if it means that you end up deep for a few seconds. If numbers are even and all of the attackers are covered, you'll want to stay 10-15 feet behind the play. That way if a puck comes loose - maybe a pass bounces off of a skate or the carrier tries a drop pass - you can swoop in with momentum and get things going the other direction very quickly. If you have a strong skating, very offensive D-man back there, be less worried about counter-attacking and more worried about him coming in as the late guy trying to get a scoring chance.

Zone - Once the transition play settles down a little you'll want concentrate on covering the D-man on your side. How far you stray from the point really depends on your skating ability, how well you anticipate the play, how good the D-man is compared to the other attackers and even how good your own D is. Bottom line: Shut down the guy at your point. On each shift, concentrate on not allowing him a single shot on net. Crowd him & contest everything he does. If he pinches in, don't let him go until your teammate has picked him up, and then pick up the guy that your teammate leaves.

Personally, I'm not all that skilled with the puck compared to the guys I play with, so I have to find other ways to contribute. We have lots of really strong skaters that play D - they regularly score 2-3 goals per game. I love to play wing because if I prevent one of them from scoring 2-3 goals in a game, that's just as good as me scoring 2-3 per game on my own. I always take it upon myself to identify their strongest D-man and shut him down.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

For me, if they're established in the zone I'll stay on my man at the point. However, if the opposing team has a player down in the corner with the puck and he's not being challenged by my D for whatever reason I'll go down, I'd rather have a shot from the point then a cross ice pass into the slot, or the man walking out of the corner into the slot and shooting. I'm a pretty strong skater though, so if they're setup in the zone I'll be about halfway down the boards, trying to keep tabs on where my point man is but also getting the stick in the passing lanes from the corner to the opposite point or cross ice into the high slot.

[chippa13 1844]

You don't want to be right on the point. Around the top of the circles is a good place to be. That gives you the option to jump on a loose puck down low or helping an outnumbered d-man when needed. For the most part, let the defensemen and center take care of the play down by the net. Don't let your point man sneak in alone.

[ktang 34]

You don't want to be right on the point. Around the top of the circles is a good place to be. That gives you the option to jump on a loose puck down low or helping an outnumbered d-man when needed. For the most part, let the defensemen and center take care of the play down by the net. Don't let your point man sneak in alone.

If you are the weak-side winger (the one not on the boards) and the puck is deep, then top-of-the-circles (in the high slot) is a good starting point. If your weak-side D-man is positioned correctly, then the two of you can intercept any passes across to the other side. Also, in covering the high slot area, you free your centre to roam a little to help out the D-man in recovering possession.

And, you are covering the opposing point man. If the opposing point man sneaks in, you have a little bit of cushion to react. If they try to pass to him at the blueline you can knock the puck into the neutral zone and go on a breakaway.

I heard somewhere that Scotty Bowman didn't let his wingers, strong-side or weak-side, get above the top of the circles in the defensive zone, and his teams did OK...

[Chadd 916]

I don't know how many times our Bear League wingers would get sucked way in the corners going after the puck only for the other team to flip it along the boards to the D at the point then nail a slap shot.

I used to tell the kids I coached, never pass the puck where you're supposed to be. Sometimes it's the right play to come down and get the puck in the corner but unless you know one of the other guys rotated over to your point, don't send the puck to the spot where you're supposed to be on the ice. Go hard around the boards, call for someone to cover you or eat it until you actually have a play.

[hip check 0]

Just run around and do whatever you want on defense. Preferably leave your defenseman open for a nice pass and the big shot. Maybe hang out near the red line waiting for your teammates to float you the perfect pass. :D

Wait, that's what a couple of wingers on one of my teams do... <_<

[gRxMx 0]

I play RW and if its an even strength offensive and they're commited to play in your defensive zone, I usually end up doing alot of play around the periphery (sp?). IE: taking away as much space from the point down low to the boards and shooting lanes as possible. So usually I consider my most active area to extend from my side's face of circle to the corner boards up to the point in a fan shape.

If its an even strength offensive you can be more committed to playing the man and forcing pressured plays than if it were a penalty killing situation where you'd want to be more conservative and disrupt play by taking away shooting and passing lanes and keeping play around the outside.

[ultraman7k 0]

great, this is awesome info guys. thanks!