How to defend against highly skilled player?

[JAG 20]

Ok. There is a bit of back story here, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

I grew up playing ice hockey. Started at about the age of 6, and played all through high school (Varsity captain sophmore, junior, senior years). I was OK. Not good enough to play competitive college hockey, but good enough to stand out in high school. I played forward, was the leading scorer on my team and one of the leading scorers in the league. This was nearly 15 years ago.

I also played roller hockey. And was VERY good at it. I wasn't allowed to play in tournaments in my age group (or the 3 years above my age group) because I was too good. At local games, I would be on a "team" with a goalie, and 1 other skater, and sometimes, the other team would have 10-15 guys on it. I'm not kidding.

I played professional roller hockey for a year in college, but quit to focus on school. It has been 9 years since I last touched a hockey stick.

The 2013/14 NHL playoffs got me to start paying attention to hockey again. I started watching after 9 years, and then I joined a few roller hockey leagues in the area. I was surprised/depressed at how little my muscles remembered from my younger days, even though my brain still remembered what I was "supposed" to be doing. It has taken a little longer than I wanted to get back into the swing of things, but I'm having fun.

One major thing that has changed, is I've started to play Defense instead of Offense. I lost a lot of my speed throughout the years, so I have been working hard at getting better at playing solid D. In the beginning, I sucked. I was all over the place, and was getting deked out by some of the worst guys in the league. But thanks to youtube, I have learned quite a bit, and have been getting better.

OK.

Now the question. And this is probably for some of the more advanced players on here.

In one of the leagues I'm in (we'll call this league Intermediate league), there is a player on an opposing team who is well above the "intermediate" level. He actually plays in the "Intermediate +" league, but I think he wanted to play multiple nights, so they let him in this league. He is killing EVERYONE. he has double the amount of points of the next best player in the league. His team is undefeated mainly because this guy just scores almost every time he touches the puck. He skates well, he stick handles well, he shoots well. He's a great all around player. But I've had enough. I need to learn how to stop him.

Oh, and he's new to the area and the league. No one had seen him before this season.

We played this team the first game of the season, and he completely blew us away. He could have played by himself, with just a goalie, and they probably still would have won. I have gotten a LOT better as a Defensemen since that game, and the whole team has really come together to work as a team. We are a far better team now than we were when we last played them.

However, when we play this team on Monday, I know we are going to have our work cut out for us. This is a pivotal game for us, as we need to win this one and the next one to make the playoffs. I need to be better against this guy.

He is bigger, faster, and stronger than pretty much everyone in the league. But it doesn't make him invincible. I know we can stop him, I just need better coaching.

Does anyone have ANY defensive tips they can give me? Anything to help limit the edge he has on everyone?

I know this was long winded, but thank you in advance!

Joe

[salayc 8]

Forget the puck. If he's good, the puck will move much faster than you can skate, and you can't predict where he'll put it (in fact, he's counting on that.) Get wide, get in his skating lane, and watch his shoulders. When he moves, you move. Get in his way and stand up.

[Chadd 916]

Keep him on the outside, let him have the puck out there. Deny him entry into the middle of the ice and make him give it to one of his teammates. It helps to have a forward backchecking hard to help deny the cut back to the middle. I've also been known to play much more physically against a guy that is playing in a league below his ability level. Even if I take a penalty, it can make them think twice about trying the same move again.

[chippa13 1844]

A guy playing down will definitely get a more enthusiastic chop to the stick/hands than someone that belongs in the level.

[JAG 20]

Thanks guys, All the input was EXTREMELY helpful. We won in overtime. We kept him at bay the whole game, we were winning 6-3 going into the 3rd, and then we fell apart defensively the first 4 minutes of the 3rd... where he scored 3 easy goals. We held them off till over time, then we scored and won the game.

It was a good win.

[donkers 31]

hold his puppy hostage

[MN old and slow 92]

Do not whine if you chop and than your own stick gets a nice chop and splits in 2. Always bring an ST to the rink to return any blatant chops when they happen! No intent to injure but do not chop the old man.

I would stick to holding his puppy hostage or blowing a kiss to his gal.

I would say take him out of the game by having him shadowed by your best skater.

[rawkstar 45]

Hehe yeah don't slash the guy :) I hate it when the other team calls me a ringer and then everyone starts whacking away like its batting season and the ref looks the other way. Just play hockey.

Forget the puck, if you want to stop the guy play the guy, stay close to him, put your stick out to disrupt his stick handling, but mostly just focus on skating with him and getting in his way. Dont get suckered into reaching for poke checks and put yourself out of position, just let him make the move. When you have your stick out make sure it's not out as far as it can go, its easy to stick handle through a guy when you know how far he can reach.

[MThockeydad 469]

Congrats on the hard-fought win!

Wheels. Keep with him or ahead of him.

If you've lost some of your speed, take a power skating class for a refresher.

Like Chadd said, make sure your forwards backcheck aggressively (did they help do so in your OT game?)

I'm newer to the sport, I still don't stickhandle great, and my shot isn't always there...but I use my long legs and skating skills to my advantage.

[Warren 1]

On ‎11‎/‎7‎/‎2014 at 2:56 AM, JAG said:

Ok. There is a bit of back story here, but I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

I grew up playing ice hockey. Started at about the age of 6, and played all through high school (Varsity captain sophmore, junior, senior years). I was OK. Not good enough to play competitive college hockey, but good enough to stand out in high school. I played forward, was the leading scorer on my team and one of the leading scorers in the league. This was nearly 15 years ago.

I also played roller hockey. And was VERY good at it. I wasn't allowed to play in tournaments in my age group (or the 3 years above my age group) because I was too good. At local games, I would be on a "team" with a goalie, and 1 other skater, and sometimes, the other team would have 10-15 guys on it. I'm not kidding.

I played professional roller hockey for a year in college, but quit to focus on school. It has been 9 years since I last touched a hockey stick.

The 2013/14 NHL playoffs got me to start paying attention to hockey again. I started watching after 9 years, and then I joined a few roller hockey leagues in the area. I was surprised/depressed at how little my muscles remembered from my younger days, even though my brain still remembered what I was "supposed" to be doing. It has taken a little longer than I wanted to get back into the swing of things, but I'm having fun.

One major thing that has changed, is I've started to play Defense instead of Offense. I lost a lot of my speed throughout the years, so I have been working hard at getting better at playing solid D. In the beginning, I sucked. I was all over the place, and was getting deked out by some of the worst guys in the league. But thanks to youtube, I have learned quite a bit, and have been getting better.

OK.

Now the question. And this is probably for some of the more advanced players on here.

In one of the leagues I'm in (we'll call this league Intermediate league), there is a player on an opposing team who is well above the "intermediate" level. He actually plays in the "Intermediate +" league, but I think he wanted to play multiple nights, so they let him in this league. He is killing EVERYONE. he has double the amount of points of the next best player in the league. His team is undefeated mainly because this guy just scores almost every time he touches the puck. He skates well, he stick handles well, he shoots well. He's a great all around player. But I've had enough. I need to learn how to stop him.

Oh, and he's new to the area and the league. No one had seen him before this season.

We played this team the first game of the season, and he completely blew us away. He could have played by himself, with just a goalie, and they probably still would have won. I have gotten a LOT better as a Defensemen since that game, and the whole team has really come together to work as a team. We are a far better team now than we were when we last played them.

However, when we play this team on Monday, I know we are going to have our work cut out for us. This is a pivotal game for us, as we need to win this one and the next one to make the playoffs. I need to be better against this guy.

He is bigger, faster, and stronger than pretty much everyone in the league. But it doesn't make him invincible. I know we can stop him, I just need better coaching.

Does anyone have ANY defensive tips they can give me? Anything to help limit the edge he has on everyone?

I know this was long winded, but thank you in advance!

Joe

PLAY THE BODY!  I cannot tell people enough to concentrate right where the 'belt-buckle' is.  He cannot deceive you as to dangling and his position if you look at that one spot.  He HAS to go where his buckle area goes.  So, he can drop one off between you legs and then you just ride him off/out always keeping your own body between his and the puck.  By the time he can possibly get back to it, it will be too late and his 'move' will be of no use.  If you go for the puck, SUCKERS BET!  That's what he wants you to do.  You don't have to 'kill him' when you play the body -- though that is always an 'under-thought' it would seem?, just interfere with him trying to get back the puck.  Since he is making a move on you, you are not interfering him in accordance with the rules.  To some situations, if you road him 30 feet to the boards, one might blow a whistle but in reality all you have to do is stop what we had wanted to do for about two seconds and then, upon recovery of said puck, he is now behind the net or at such a sharp angle, it is not good for him.  I will ALWAYS say, I would rather have a guy play the body and be sure that he's not going to get beat as opposed to someone playing the puck and in the most luckiest of circumstances, they might get a turnover.  I hope this helps!

[Bakum 25]

I was always taught to watch the opposing players' core. Usually the center of their chest or logo on their jersey. Depending on the player, you can read where they are going by looking them right in the eyes because they may have made the move in their head before they actually shifted their body. This kinda messes with some players too because you're locked eyes with them heh. If the player is real good, their head should be up so you play their body but if you see them drop their head, that's your moment to poke because they aren't looking at your positioning any more.

[NJSwede 1]

On 3/22/2016 at 5:54 AM, Warren said:

PLAY THE BODY!  I cannot tell people enough to concentrate right where the 'belt-buckle' is.  He cannot deceive you as to dangling and his position if you look at that one spot.  He HAS to go where his buckle area goes.  So, he can drop one off between you legs and then you just ride him off/out always keeping your own body between his and the puck.  By the time he can possibly get back to it, it will be too late and his 'move' will be of no use.  If you go for the puck, SUCKERS BET!  That's what he wants you to do.  You don't have to 'kill him' when you play the body -- though that is always an 'under-thought' it would seem?, just interfere with him trying to get back the puck.  Since he is making a move on you, you are not interfering him in accordance with the rules.  To some situations, if you road him 30 feet to the boards, one might blow a whistle but in reality all you have to do is stop what we had wanted to do for about two seconds and then, upon recovery of said puck, he is now behind the net or at such a sharp angle, it is not good for him.  I will ALWAYS say, I would rather have a guy play the body and be sure that he's not going to get beat as opposed to someone playing the puck and in the most luckiest of circumstances, they might get a turnover.  I hope this helps!

Great post. Just because of reading this, tomorrow a player friend and me decided to really play the body at each other at tomorrow's organized pick-up game, just to really practice it. 

[Ashtasticness 89]

Keep him out of the middle. Make your self big. I am a big fan of lifting people's sticks. Especially from behind. So you can do all that, then kick him in the balls. I know a lot of guys that don't wear cups. 

[kclark87 28]

15 hours ago, Ashtasticness said:

Keep him out of the middle. Make your self big. I am a big fan of lifting people's sticks. Especially from behind. So you can do all that, then kick him in the balls. I know a lot of guys that don't wear cups. 

Im so glad I wear a cup. I had a guy hook me between the legs and he just cranked it up on my boys until I tripped. Was pissed there was no penalty call.

[hockeyman8 2]

I agree with most of the recommendations on here....... but I sum it up with one saying that I say a lot to my teammates during games-  BELLY BUTTON!!   Where it goes...they go!    I'm a bigger guy and 47 yrs old, playing DEFENSE against mostly players in their 20's and 30's....so body position, strength, and hustle are what keep me up with them.

[FlyChicaga 21]

Play the body, play the body, play the body. I play D and D only now. When I get someone who is doing toe drags and all that jazz in men's league, I play them hard and engage them physically (without taking a penalty, unless I've really had enough and catch them with a good hit). 85% of the time, the toe-dangler gets extremely pissed off, because now they can't play their show-off game. So it throws them off their game.

I had a guy who was a really good skater and had good hands throw a literal temper tantrum because I bumped into him a few times. He lost his mind because he couldn't dangle around everyone like orange cones. It was such a pleasure to see.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

I think all that's be said has been fairly accurate. Unless your goalie is shaky, keeping him to the outside. And for those ringers, don't play like there are scouts in the stands. You wonder why you don't get calls? It's because you are playing in a league you don't belong in AND you're a 'Timmy Go Hard' haha. I play in the highest levels with both the teams I'm on but officiate the lower levels. There will always be ringers at the lower levels. The issue is how do they conduct themselves. Some ringers just go out there and skate with their buddies and distribute the puck. It's the ringers who are going end to end and trying to backhand toe-drag every senior citizen on the ice that get hacked haha. If you are getting hacked, check the way you are playing. 

[chk hrd 164]

I agree with you. A player who is well above the level they are playing in has the ability to control the emotion of the game. Perfect example is my last game. It's a solid B/ high C league. Player on the other team is way over everyone and is at minor league level. He is coming down the boards and I got my stick on him a little to hard (he's early 20's, I'm 52). His Daddy who plays with him sees it and as I start to make the turn to go behind the net this ass hat comes through the slot at speed and blind sides me with a cross check. I was down, thought some ribs were cracked and had the wind knocked out of me. I think the kid realized things we getting out of hand because he took it down a notch. Most of the players on his team calmed down but Daddy didn't, was a D-bag for the rest of the game. 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

That's the worse haha. It would be one thing if you ran his kid. I don't have a problem with family sticking up for one another. Just use proper judgement.

[chk hrd 164]

The bad thing about family is they tend to over do it. I have a massive bruise on my elbow from the crosscheck. I didn't realize it at the time but that's where the point of contact was, explains why he didn't break any ribs. Good thing I wear good elbow pads or I would be screwed.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

No doubt. No one should have to deal with that from playing men's league hockey.

[chk hrd 164]

To top it off, he was such a D-bag that in the 3rd period (cheap shot happened in the middle of the 1st and I played the game out) while skating by to line up for a face off he jabs the toe of his stick in my stomach and start his tough guy routine. Who does that to a guy you know is injured, especially in beer league. Refs didn't do anything but separate us. Tough guy should have got a 2 because the refs saw it all. Hope he knows Karma is a bitch.

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

At minimum. If I wanted to throw the book at him (seems like he had it coming to him), I could go with a 5 + GM for a spear haha. Technically, that is what a jab with toe is. 

[IPv6Freely 2093]

23 minutes ago, 215BroadStBullies610 said:

At minimum. If I wanted to throw the book at him (seems like he had it coming to him), I could go with a 5 + GM for a spear haha. Technically, that is what a jab with toe is. 

I wish more beer league refs would do things like this. It would seriously curb the BS pretty quickly. 

[215BroadStBullies610 435]

I agree. I'm not there to call every men's league game like I'm being evaluated but I'm also not going to let stuff like that go. Last thing I need is someone getting hurt on my watch due to some meathead showing how 'tough' he/she is haha. Not worth it. We all got wake up the next day and pay bills.