Don’t Be A Lazy Forward

Speaking to Forwards This Sunday Morning

Do you want more ice time?

Do you want to be out there the last minute of the game?

Then listen up. Because what separates the forwards who get trusted in big moments from the ones who ride the pine is not their offensive skill. It is their defensive commitment. Coaches at every level see it immediately. Scouts see it. And if you are not doing it, you are hurting your team and your own development at the same time.

Defense Is Not Optional for Forwards

• ▸Take pride in your defense.
  - Work just as hard in both ends.
  - Good defense creates offense.

Johnny Gaudreau and Kevin Hayes worked with me a couple of summers ago. They said their game at BC changed and took off as soon as they bought into playing heavy defense. I am talking about working their asses off in the defensive zone, most especially. These are elite players who understood that defense was not a burden. It was the key that unlocked everything else for them offensively.

No shortcuts in defense. This is for the forwards because defense is their secondary job, sort of. But secondary does not mean optional. You need to backcheck hard to create your own offense and help out your team. It will change the game. Significantly. If your defensemen see you loafing back, they lose trust in you fast, and that trust is very hard to rebuild.

The Hardest Play You Will Make as a Winger

One of the hardest plays in hockey is when the defenseman wraps the puck out around the wall on the breakout and the winger has to stop the puck, absorb the hit, and make a play. Way easier said than done. Most young forwards do not practice this enough, so when the moment arrives in a game, they panic and turn it over.

We work on this play a lot. I am talking a lot. Mastering this skill will make you a franchise player on your team. I teach this to forwards over and over and over again. We master this play because it happens every single shift at every level of the game.

There are a lot of choices in this situation, and you need to read it correctly before the puck even gets to you. If not executed properly with proper choices, you will cause a turnover and ride the pine.

Options on the Wrap Around

**First option:** Stop the wrap. Settle the puck with your stick or skate. Hit your center. This is the cleanest option when you have time and space, so train yourself to look for it first.

**Second option:** Settle the puck and skate with it. You might have time. Read your body position and the pressure coming at you before you commit to this.

**Third option:** Flip pass out to your center or to yourself. This is not going a great distance. You may skate up for your own flip pass. It takes confidence and repetition to pull this off under pressure.

**Fourth option:** Stop the puck. Absorb the hit by sticking your butt out and shielding the puck. Not the most fun option, but sometimes it is the right one. Protect the puck and trust your teammates to come support you.

**Fifth option:** Pass it back to your defenseman. Know where your D is before the puck reaches you. That awareness has to be automatic.

**Sixth option:** Eat the puck on the boards and wait for a teammate to come help you. You are in a 50/50 battle holding that puck away from the other team. That is fine. Fight for it. Do not force a bad play just because you are uncomfortable.

Conditioning and Compete Level Are Non-Negotiable

Forwards, it is never ending. You need to skate hard all the way back. All the way forward. Over and over and over again. The players who can do that for sixty minutes are the ones coaches trust when the game is on the line.

Conditioning is key. If you are tired, your decisions get slow. Slow decisions in the defensive zone cost your team goals. You cannot hide poor conditioning with skill at the higher levels of the game.

It is so obvious when forwards are being lazy and not helping out the D. Obvious to coaches. Obvious to scouts. Obvious to trained eyes most especially. You might think you are getting away with it. You are not.

Hockey is really hard. Do the work.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do coaches always talk about defensive responsibility for forwards?

Because forwards who only think offense are a liability. A coach cannot put a player on the ice in a tight game if he does not trust that player in his own zone. Defense is what earns you ice time, especially in crucial situations.

How can a young forward get better at backchecking?

Start with effort and awareness. Know where the play is going before you lose the puck so you can turn and go immediately. Conditioning matters here too. If you are not in shape, you will not backcheck hard consistently. Make it a habit in every practice, not just when you feel like it.

What should a winger do differently to improve on breakouts?

Work the wall receive over and over in practice. Learn all six options on that wrap around so you are never surprised in a game. The best wingers have already made the decision before the puck arrives. That only comes from repetition.

Will playing better defense actually lead to more offensive opportunities?

Yes, and this is the part most young forwards do not believe until they experience it. When you backcheck hard and win pucks in your own zone, your team transitions faster and you end up in more offensive situations, not fewer. Gaudreau and Hayes proved that. The numbers follow the compete level.