Playing Centre

[thejackal 46]

T

Are there any good sites, articles or books on the fundamentals of play for hockey? There seems to be lots of stuff on individual skills but very little on the fundamental ways to attack or defend as a team...

A great question and I am anxiously awaiting hearing an answer as well.

The only book I know of is "The Hockey Handbook" by Lloyd Percival. It has a mix of discussion on both individual and team play. The book appears to be out-of-print, but you can buy it used at Amazon marketplace and other sites.

I haven't read much of the book, but it seems well-written and it got good reviews on the Amazon website. Maybe some other MSHers can chime in on their opinion of Percival's book.

great book, but a bit dense content-wise. beginners might have a hard time implementing a lot of things in it, but it's definitely worth a read.

[hockeytim18 0]

This all reminds me of why I loved being put at wing.

Been put at center for a month without producing. Finally I go back to wing this weekend. :D

[danielb 0]

Just found

showing basic defensive positioning which is a great help, does anyone know of anything similar for basic offensive positioning? I'd imagine the positioning is similar with the wingers & defencemens positions swapped in offence?

[N!! 0]

T

Are there any good sites, articles or books on the fundamentals of play for hockey? There seems to be lots of stuff on individual skills but very little on the fundamental ways to attack or defend as a team...

A great question and I am anxiously awaiting hearing an answer as well.

The only book I know of is "The Hockey Handbook" by Lloyd Percival. It has a mix of discussion on both individual and team play. The book appears to be out-of-print, but you can buy it used at Amazon marketplace and other sites.

I haven't read much of the book, but it seems well-written and it got good reviews on the Amazon website. Maybe some other MSHers can chime in on their opinion of Percival's book.

Percival's masterpiece is the greatest book on hockey ever written, bar none. In fact, I'd have a difficult time thinking of anything that would come close. If I put Percival's book on a 100-point scale, it's in the high 90s. Second would probably be "The Game", which in comparison would be in the 60s.

Percival was a prototype case of a prophet without honor. His ideas on conditioning and style of play were roundly rejected as being insane, yet Percival's ultimate vindication came from watching the USSR (who learned the game from his book) dismantle Canada in the Summit Series. For the sake of bringing intelligent thought to sport, the worst thing possible was for Canada to win that series (which is strange for me to say, considering I am a virulent anti-communist). The Canadian comeback simply perpetuated the idiotic notions that offseason training was for weirdos, the dump and chase was a good idea, and games trumped practice times. An 8-0 or 7-0-1 Soviet victory might have triggered widespead changes, but it still took 20+ years for anything resembling modern ideas to make inroads. In a lot of ways, the old way of doing things is still closely followed without any constructive thought of "WHY?" It's the mentality that led teams to stuff their guys with 30 ounces of beef before a game; the only explanation you'd ever get was "it's always been done that way."

Maybe it's my inner coach that has always strived toward maximum efficiency that rejects the inefficient. Practice time spent on endless skating drills and top-end speed drive me nuts, as does a local team that spends at least 10 minutes of every hour practice working on breakaways. Or maybe it's simply my inner contrarian/iconoclastic streak coming out into the light. Are some of Percival's ideas somewhat outdated? Not really. In the area of conditioning, much more is known today than it was 50 years ago, but the field of training is also cluttered by too many seed-pickers who glean bits of knowledge and have no idea how it all fits together or even if what they repeat is accurate. And the world of hockey coaching is still bound together by those who teach 7-year-olds how to shoot the puck into the corner from the blueline and have someone pursue it in. It's absurd.

Rant over....for now.

[Jarick 5]

Thought I'd share this, mainly because I'm bored.

We were short handed yesterday, so I got put at center. Been playing LW all season (first season of organized hockey since I was a little kid). Since I'm a competent skater, I suppose that's why I got the nod.

It was a lot of fun having more control over the play and responsibility in the defensive zone. We play a zone defensive, so playing man-to-man with their center and tying up sticks in the slot was a lot more interesting that covering a point man and waiting for a breakout.

I ended up about 18/20, winning some key defensive zone, PK, and PP draws. Never took one before last night, but I feel pretty confident now that I could step in on the PK and if a center gets tossed.

The big thing I noticed was what I want wingers to do. When they were chasing the puck in the corners and forechecking hard, I could really see just how much of a difference it makes. And when they were hanging back and losing those battles, we were giving up chances. I'll definitely keep that in mind when I return to wing.

And although my line hit about half a dozen pipes and missed a couple empty net shots, we kept some pressure, we didn't let in any goals, and won it 3-1 (empty netter).

Had good feedback, might get another crack at it. Anyone else switch up positions? What kind of things should a center be looking to do if I end up making a habit out of the position?

[chef_ducky 0]

Congrats on starting

[JR97 2]

I'm a smaller guy but defensive minded and played a lot of center when I first started. I was the best face-off guy in the league and that is why I got stuck there. I wasn't much of a goal scorer but racked up quite a few assists.

However, my understanding of the whole ice didn't happen until I spent a few seasons on D. Now playing forward is more productive because I know where D like me to be for breakouts, turnovers, etc. My first few seasons moving back to a forward spot from D were my highest scoring.

Another buddy of mine was similarly skilled as me. At first he bitched when we moved him back to D and then a few games in, his game exploded through the roof. he finally "got it". He was a monster offensively for a D and was quick enough and strong enough to be one of the to 3 defensively in the league.

The best player I've ever played with was a converted forward. The smartest player I've played with by far and he dominated the league when we moved him back to D because he was able to quarterback the play a lot better. He usually led the league in scoring.