I was a forward for all of my hockey-playing life. I played both wings, but mostly centre. That being said, over the past 30 seasons of playing, broadcasting and coaching, I have grown a deep appreciation for defencemen in the game of hockey. Defencemen have to learn a set of skills that is similar to that of forwards, but still distinctly different. The following drill will help defencemen develop their counter and turnover reaction.

Place all D in the middle, with forwards at opposite bluelines.

Have coaches place two pucks on the redline for opposite forwards to pick up.

Place two D on each opposite Neutral Zone dot.

On the whistle, forwards skate, touching the blueline, pick up the puck and drive wide.

The defencemen cannot leave until the forward has possession of the puck (if you have a younger team, place the puck on the near neutral zone dot.)

As the defencemen react and begin to skate forward and then backward, they want to make a straight line towards their net, keeping the forward to the outside until they can angle the forward towards the corner.

Defencemen must learn to react to on-coming speed and this drill is one of many ways to develop correct skills around this reaction.

Ryan Walter played 15 seasons in the NHL and is now a coach with the Vancouver Canucks. Use Ryan’s newest on-line tool, www.inspiringyourbestgame.com, to help inspire your players’ best game or enhance your people’s top performance. E-mail info@ryanwalter.com to request information on a TEAM book bundle which includes Hockey Plays and Strategies, and a Simply the Best tailored to every coach and player.

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