154:, describes the cover-point as "a combination of a defence man and a forward, and is allowed, in virtue of this fact, more latitude with respect to leaving his position, than any man on the team, except the rover. In his capacity of a defence player, he should linger around his goals as long as the puck is near... When the play is at the other end of the rink, the cover-point should advance to about the middle, so that when the puck is lifted down, he may return it without loss of time, in order to keep the game centered around his opponents' goals, and to save his forwards the trouble of skating up to him so that they may again 'get in to play.' It is by playing far up under these circumstances that a clever cover-point can chine to the advantage of his team. If he has a good opening he should shoot well for the goals, but if he has not, he should, as I have said, return the puck instantaneously."
344:, the defence hangs back towards his or her own blue line, usually playing the puck up to other teammates. According to Jay Leach, who writes for NHL.com's "learn to play hockey" section, the defence must "Move the puck hard and quick to the open man. Join the rush, do not lead it." Because of this responsibility, defencemen must read the other team's defensive strategy effectively in order to make an effective first pass that furthers the offensive momentum without leaving the defenceman out of position should his team lose control of the puck. In certain situations the best option could be to skate the puck into the zone to maintain offensive speed as well as preventing an offside.
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defenceman to keep opposing forwards from being able to move effectively in front of the net, which is why defencemen are frequently tasked with playing physical hockey in front of their own net. If a shot on net is made, an unguarded forward can often redirect it too quickly for the goalie to adjust or else score on a rebound. Another important duty is clearing rebounds away from the goal, and preferably to the defenceman's teammates, before opposing forwards can get to them. Often, defence players end up covering the opposing team's wingers while in the defensive zone, while their centre will cover the opposing team's centre.
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offensive opponents as they rush down the ice toward the defensive zone. A defenceman must be as comfortable going backwards and sideways as forwards. Defencemen must also gain confidence in quickly carrying the puck to open up the attack during a defensive zone break-out. This requires the ability to burst out of the defensive zone with speed, yet at the same time having the ability to use their vision to execute quick passes to open forwards, or gaining the neutral zone before shooting the puck into the offensive zone.
142:, describes the point as "essentially defensive. He should not stray too far from his place, because oftentimes he is practically a second goal-minder ... although he should remain close to his goal-keeper, he should never obstruct that man's view of the puck. He should, as a rule, avoid rushing up the ice, but if he has a good opening for such a play he should give the puck to one of the forwards on the first opportunity and then hasten back to his position, which has been occupied, in the interim, by the cover-point."
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328:, the defence player is responsible for keeping the opposing forwards' opportunities to a minimum when they are on a rush, forcing them to the corners and blocking both passing and shooting lanes. The primary responsibility is to cover areas of the defensive zone that would otherwise pose a clear goalscoring threat from the opposing offence.
356:, the defence skaters usually "play the blue line". It is their duty to keep the puck in the offensive zone by stopping it from crossing the blue line that demarcates where the offensive zone begins. Should the puck cross this line, the offence cannot touch the puck in their opponent's zone without stopping play (see
360:). Defencemen must be quick to pass the puck around, helping their forwards to open up shooting lanes, or taking open shots themselves when they become available. The defence must also be able to skate quickly to cut off any breakaways, moving themselves back into the defensive zone ahead of the onrushing opponent.
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in the defensive zone, most teams have their defence players pair up with opposing wingers to tie them up while leaving his team's forwards open to move the puck, though this is at the discretion of the individual coach. In the offensive zone, the defence player acts in his or her usual role, keeping
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When the opposing offence is putting pressure on the defence's team, the defence skater usually plays closer to the net, attempting again to block shooting lanes but also ensure that the goalie is not screened (prevented from being able to see the puck at all times). It is especially critical for the
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Defence players are often described by the amount that they participate in offence. The extreme of non-participation in offence is a "stay-at-home" defender, who plays a conservative, risk averse game and does not score much, instead focusing on defensive assignments towards the opposing team. A good
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Defencemen must possess excellent skating abilities, specifically in speed, constant foot movement and quick transitioning from forward to backward and vice versa. With regard to skating backwards, defencemen must acquire a higher skill level than offensive players. This allows them to face their
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Essentially in all three zones of the rink, the defence is the backstop for the puck. It should never go behind the defence, unless the player intentionally lets it for strategic reasons. The defence keeps the momentum of play squarely directed towards the opposing goal, or at least away from his
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Organized play of ice hockey originates from the first indoor game in
Montreal in 1875. In subsequent years, the players per side were reduced to seven per side. Positions were standardized, and two correspond to the two defencemen of current six-man rules. These were designated as
410:. For this reason, a defenceman will often be described as the power play "quarterback", in particular if an umbrella power play formation is used (where a single defenceman is occupying the point, in the middle of the ice). This is also referred to as "playing
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Championships. By contrast, Paul Coffey enjoyed high offensive production but his defensive play was considered mediocre for most of his career; he helped his teams win four
Stanley Cup Championships, often paired with a "stay-at-home" defender.
74:(the latter a reference to the blue line in ice hockey which represents the boundary of the offensive zone; defencemen generally position themselves along the line to keep the puck in the zone). They were once called cover-point.
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174:– an eight-time Norris Trophy recipient – is often considered to be the greatest defenceman in NHL and ice hockey history. In addition to his Norris Trophy honours, he is the only defenceman in NHL history to capture the
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375:, who was seven times decorated with "Hardest Shot" in NHL skills competitions, was able to score frequently from the blue line because his slapshot was simply too fast to block effectively.
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opportunities for the opposing team if the defender does not succeed. Bobby Orr's end-to-end rushing allowed him to defend effectively as well as attack, helping his teams win two
105:, teams (usually) have only three position players and a goaltender on the ice, and may use either two forwards and one defenceman, or—rarely—two defencemen and one forward.
371:. This is because taking a more stationary position on the blue line rewards pure accuracy and patience, rather than the adept hand–eye coordination attributed to forwards.
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area for scoring opportunities. This makes it difficult for the opposing team to protect their net from being scored upon if the team can maintain control of the
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Norris Trophy after having scored only three goals that season, as the award winners before and after him were primarily offensive defencemen such as
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Because defencemen are often expected to shoot on the opposing net from long range, these players often develop the hardest and most accurate
93:(i.e. has been assessed a penalty), in which two defencemen are typically joined by only two forwards and a goaltender; when a team is on the
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According to one of the earliest known books on ice hockey, Farrell's
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List of NHL defencemen (present players and recently retired)
434:), defencemen used to line up in an "I" formation behind the
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control of the puck as the forwards fight for position.
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regular season play in overtime, effective with the
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219:'Stay-at-home' and 'offensive' defence
203:), the greatest defencemen to play in
166:to the best defenceman in the league.
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575:Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game
132:Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game
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58:. They are often referred to as
497:"Bobby Orr – Legends of Hockey"
190:Top 100 NHL Players of all-time
85:on the ice. Exceptions include
19:For a general definition, see
1:
1357:Games with highest attendance
546:IIHF Centennial All-Star Team
197:IIHF Centennial All-Star Team
195:Conversely, according to the
1483:Positions on the hockey rink
164:James Norris Memorial Trophy
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572:Farrell, Arthur (1899).
158:Distinguished defencemen
109:Historical designations
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295:and moves towards the
99:National Hockey League
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16:Position in ice hockey
1605:Ice hockey defencemen
1251:Gordie Howe hat trick
1231:Ceremonial first puck
673:Goaltending equipment
526:"Bobby Orr Biography"
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1610:Ice hockey positions
378:When a team is on a
289:offensive defenceman
152:Montreal Hockey Club
501:Hockey Hall of Fame
348:Offensive zone play
320:Defensive zone play
1408:In popular culture
1347:Arenas by capacity
266:Jacques Laperrière
209:Vyacheslav Fetisov
140:Montreal Victorias
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1190:Neutral zone trap
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507:on March 16, 2009
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404:American football
336:Neutral zone play
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1501:
1393:Broadcasting
1377:Shot quality
1301:Shot on goal
1160:Dump'n'Chase
982:Short-handed
967:Penalty shot
882:Awarded goal
786:
574:
552:
541:
529:. Retrieved
520:
509:. Retrieved
505:the original
491:
484:Farrell 1899
479:
472:Farrell 1899
467:
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429:
421:
377:
366:
362:
351:
342:neutral zone
339:
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324:When in the
323:
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286:
258:Harry Howell
238:Denis Potvin
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91:short-handed
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1547:Other roles
1326:Towel Power
1321:Three stars
1209:Terminology
1038:Saucer pass
750:Skate guard
444:cover point
400:quarterback
384:point guard
373:Al MacInnis
313:Stanley Cup
262:Tom Johnson
242:Paul Coffey
226:Rod Langway
224:example is
146:Cover-point
116:cover point
33:Ray Bourque
1599:Categories
1579:Head coach
1502:Defenceman
1497:Goaltender
1335:Statistics
1281:Puck bunny
1261:Hockeytown
1119:Underwater
1094:Rink bandy
1057:Variations
1048:Wrist shot
787:Defenceman
782:Goaltender
668:Cooperalls
629:Ice hockey
581:. Corneil.
566:References
511:2008-09-27
388:basketball
380:power play
297:halfboards
270:Kevin Lowe
254:Tim Horton
246:Leo Boivin
136:Mike Grant
95:power play
83:goaltender
72:blueliners
60:defencemen
52:ice hockey
1584:Officials
1490:Positions
1403:Nicknames
1342:Analytics
1306:Skatemill
1241:Five-hole
1170:Forecheck
1145:Breakaway
1140:Backcheck
1135:Analytics
1064:Broomball
1043:Snap shot
1028:One timer
1002:Tuck rule
947:Officials
892:Breakaway
768:Positions
660:Equipment
412:the point
392:playmaker
369:slapshots
309:breakaway
301:high-slot
234:Bobby Orr
168:Bobby Orr
1554:Enforcer
1431:Category
1413:Violence
1398:Fighting
1311:Slapshot
1150:Checking
1128:Strategy
997:Tripping
977:Roughing
957:Overtime
917:Face-off
902:Clipping
897:Charging
887:Boarding
840:Enforcer
724:Uniform
720:T-Blades
424:faceoffs
418:Faceoffs
398:, and a
134:(1899),
87:overtime
79:forwards
1574:Captain
1559:Grinder
1512:Forward
1441:Commons
1367:Fenwick
1185:Loafing
1155:Cycling
1109:Special
1074:Fantasy
1069:College
962:Penalty
952:Offside
937:Hooking
927:Halifax
845:Grinder
830:Captain
807:Two-way
797:Forward
688:Trapper
678:Blocker
645:Leagues
640:History
450:Skating
422:During
358:offside
352:In the
340:In the
293:offside
170:of the
138:of the
56:scoring
44:defense
40:Defence
1529:Winger
1507:Centre
1226:Diving
1221:Assist
1195:Screen
1104:Sledge
1099:Shinny
1089:Power‎
1011:Skills
814:Winger
792:Centre
733:Jersey
728:Helmet
396:soccer
280:, and
240:, and
81:and a
1569:Rover
1372:Point
1362:Films
1276:Point
1114:Table
1079:Minor
942:Icing
877:Arena
869:Rules
855:Rover
835:Coach
823:Other
802:Power
743:Socks
738:Pants
710:Stick
705:Skate
695:Glove
650:Teams
579:(PDF)
459:Notes
440:point
436:rover
364:own.
182:) in
126:Point
120:point
68:D-men
50:) in
1564:Pest
1316:Stop
1286:Save
1180:Line
1084:Pond
1033:Pass
1023:Deke
992:Slot
987:Shot
972:Rink
922:Goal
850:Pest
775:Main
715:Tape
700:Puck
683:Mask
533:2008
442:and
406:and
390:, a
305:puck
299:and
230:1983
211:and
205:IIHF
118:and
46:(in
402:in
394:in
386:in
70:or
42:or
1601::
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284:.
276:,
272:,
268:,
264:,
260:,
256:,
252:,
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66:,
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1475:e
1468:t
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621:e
614:t
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535:.
514:.
187:'
64:D
23:.
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