Dman Help

[Todd Dwight]

Hello,

I am somewhat new to coaching but would love some tips on…

1. I have a few defencemen that love to rush the puck from end to end which is fine but it happens every shift, what should I tell them in the pregame talk?

[Tom Molloy]

Today the D have to be part of a 4 man attack and the key is to read the game situation.

1. The puck moves faster than any player can skate so the D have to pass to any teammate who is in better position than them to get the puck up ice. He can't be carrying the puck all the time and make everyone stand still at the blueline so they don't go offside. He should pass and then follow his pass and become part of the play.

2. When either D sees a forward with good possesion of the puck he should jump up and become part of the rush and one of the 4 players attacking. When he sees his team doesn't have good possession then he has to drop back, which is easy because he will have a lot of speed. If you are playing 1-2-3-4-5 then the first 4 should be in on the rush and 5 support from behind.

'The Game is the Greatest Coach'
'Enjoy the Game'

[Pops Ryan]

Todd – Just out of curiosity, what age group are you talking about? If it's the younger groups, my challenge with the Squirts was to get the other players involved in the flow. If our young version of Bobby Orr was clearly going for goal, we would play 2nd touch ( i.e. rebounds) with one F and also have one of the other F's cover for that rushing D-Man. Looking back, iIt was not unusual to have one kid who could take the puck from one end to the other without great effort. The key was to make him head man the puck and join the rush in support. As you already know, the other guys are not going to improve if they are merely spectators.

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