Defenceman
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring.
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.
Bobby Orr of the Boston Bruins – an eight-time Norris Trophy recipient[3] – is often considered to be the greatest defenceman in NHL and ice hockey history.
Conversely, according to the IIHF Centennial All-Star Team (also chosen by The Hockey News), the greatest defencemen to play in IIHF-sanctioned international competition are Vyacheslav Fetisov and Börje Salming.
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 example is Rod Langway, who won the 1983 Norris Trophy after having scored only three goals that season, as the award winners before and after him were primarily offensive defencemen such as Bobby Orr, Denis Potvin, and Paul Coffey.
Other examples of stay-at-home defencemen include Leo Boivin, Chris Chelios,[6] Tim Horton, Harry Howell, Tom Johnson, Jacques Laperrière, Kevin Lowe, Brad McCrimmon, Bill Quackenbush, and Scott Stevens.
To accomplish this, the offensive defence player often “pinches in” to keep the play from going offside and moves towards the halfboards and high-slot area for scoring opportunities.
Bobby Orr's end-to-end rushing allowed him to defend effectively as well as attack, helping his teams win two Stanley Cup 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.
When in the defensive zone, 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.
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.
Al MacInnis, 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.
Defencemen must possess excellent skating abilities, specifically in speed, constant foot movement and quick transitioning from forward to backward and vice versa.
