Six Players: Explaining The Hockey Positions
Posted: Tuesday, August 10, 2010
by Dr. Carla Goddard
There was a time that hockey was an individual heroics game and the positions were super star and everyone else, when the NHL made the games "off side" rule it truly became a team sport and individual heroics diminished in importance.
Before going through individual positions, first it is important to know something about the game and some of the basic strategies and terms used in the game of ice hockey. After this golden age, the off / on sides hockey ended, the term line's came about. In hockey as we know it today, there is the offensive line and the defensive line which make up five positions and sixth being the goalie. The lines are typically divided into three offensive players and two defensive players. Typically each of the lines will always play together and substitutions are done by line rather than by person. There are also special lines which are for shorthanded penalty play or for power plays.
The offensive line is made up of forward positions usually consisting of a center, and two wings. The center position is probably the hardest position on either line to play. The center is expected to play both offensive and defensive plays. This position requires speed, puck control, and superior play generating skills. In most cases, the center is the position that also takes the face offs.The wings is responsible for covering the defense men on their side without getting sucked down too far in the zone leaving a mark open for an uncovered man in their zone to have a scoring chance. Wings need to watch and predict the puck movement, an example is when attacking the puck carrier needs to lean forward putting his head or shoulder across the blue line first to prevent off sides. They need to be able to read when the defenders are backing off, which side is weaker, knowing when to stagger the attack, and have the speed to beat the opposing teams defense men creating break aways.The defensive men are responsible for keeping the puck out of their own zone.
The defense men need to always have one of the two covering the front of the net, follow through with checks to beat the opposing offense back to the front of the net, and know how to take out the "trash".Every team plays the lines differently and has different game strategies. There are the 2-1-2 fore checking system used when a team wants to put constant pressure on the defense to the 1-2-2 trap. Zone defense as opposed to man-to man defense are all part of the strategies that a team uses to change things up and greatly depend upon the skills that any team has. Strategies will be based on a teams strength and weaknesses - the key is figuring out what your opponents weakness is before they figure out yours.
The goalie's position is without a doubt the hardest position to play on the team. Other than keeping the puck out of the net, they need to be away at all times where every player on the ice is in relation to the puck. There are different styles of goal tending which really depends on how the goal tender was taught during the early years. The equipment that a goalie wears is cumbersome and it takes a great deal of endurance and strength to play a position that people tend to think of the slowest skater on the team.
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