Dan Replies:
Dear Jeremy: Here's my some tips that may help you - from the most obvious to the more complex:
1. You can't practice skating backwards enough.
2. Always clear the puck to the side, because the side is a non-scoring area (outside the RWTR - explained later).
3. When an attacker is coming down on you, always watch his belly button - not the puck - because your job is him not the puck and it's hard to fool someone with your belly button.
4. When defending in your zone, don't watch the puck, watch the guy in front of the net (in the RWTR) - be over him like ugly on a toad.
5. Learn to turn both ways out of your backward stride... we taught you that at camp. Practice that over and over again.
6. When you watch a game on TV - try to guess what the defenseman you are watching are going to do as the play develops and see if you are right. As Yogi Berra said, "You can observe a lot by watching."
7. If you do find yourself with the puck at the top of the defensive circle with no one between you and the goalie... go like a bat! But if you don't score, go just as fast back into position. If your coach says never to carry the puck, respect your coach but make a "mistake" if you have a great chance. Read the January article at www.masshockey.com/Article/index.html and hear that if Bobby Orr would not have been allowed to rush the puck as a kid, he wouldn't have made it to the NHL.
8. Having said #9, remember you can pass the puck faster than you can skate it. So passing it is usually a better option than skating with it, especially in your own zone. So try to see the whole ice and know where your wingers are so if you do get the puck on your stick deep in your zone, your outlet pass can be decisive and quick. Remember this is a north and south game, try to move the puck up the ice, not side to side (east and west).
9. Remember (visualize) the rink within the rink (the RWTR). That's the rink that's defined by a line drawn from the face-off circle dots. In your defensive zone it extends back to the end boards so it's like a big horseshoe. It's your job to keep the attackers and the puck outside the RWTR. And as a general rule, you should be playing inside the RWTR. Don't leave the RWTR to chase someone who's outside this RWTR.
10. Control the Gap. In short, for the team in general this means - don't let the opposing team get a large gap between the puck and you. In order to do this you must play defense as soon as possible, that is: come hard to the puck the instant the opposition gets position and try to keep them outside the WTR. For a defenseman, this mean the closer to the puck you can play defense, the more you are able to force the puck where you want it to go. If you back off and give them 30 feet, you have no control. If you play them aggressively and bring the gap down to 10 feet, you have more control over their play. This also means adjust your speed to the speed of the attacking team. Try to keep them in as small an area of the rink as possible, i.e. inside their own blue line.
Playing defense is a thinking man's position. You can think your way to being a good defenseman. My good friend Todd Reirden (St Louis Blues) is a case in point. Like me, his skills are not up there with the elite of the league, but he works hard every shift, he rarely makes mistakes, and he plays smart (makes good (safe) choices).
I hope this helps
