Hockey Positions

Maybe you're new to hockey and trying to figure out what position you want to play, or even what they all do, or you could be a seasoned vet who's wondering if switching things up could be beneficial. This episode of The Beer Leaguer podcast dives into that and more. 

Chapters

• 2:08 The Basics
• 5:11 Choosing Your Position
• 7:23 Try Switching Positions
• 10:33 Defensemen: What You Can Learn Playing Back
• 13:49 Wingers: What To Watch For
• 15:55 Centers
• 17:48 Goalies: A Whole Different World
• 20:56 How To Approach a Position Change
• 25:04 Wrap-Up

Transcript

THE_BEER_LEAGUER: 0:12

On this episode of The Beer Leaguer podcast, we're talking about the different positions in hockey. Now, this is probably more relevant to some of the beginners out there and people that are just starting out, but I promise you, there will be nuggets for everybody in here to take away from. So we're gonna be covering what the different positions are, what they do, the differences, the similarities, choosing a position, switching positions, all kinds of stuff in this episode of The Beer Leaguer Podcast. All right, so hockey positions. Pretty easy. What do you got? You got your center, you got your wingers, you got your defense, you got your goalie. There you go. That's it. Right? Okay, so goalie. I will say I'm not gonna talk a lot about goalie in this episode. That's a whole nother thing. They are very kind of separate from how everything works. They do very different things than everybody. And quite honestly, you can't really easily switch from any other position in goalie as much as you can, you know, from, say, left wing to defense, or right defense to center or something like that. That's pretty, you know, you can do that. You don't have to get any extra equipment. So for those of you out there hoping that I have some great insight on how to swap into being goalie, I don't really think there is any besides a desire or at least non-fear of getting hit with the puck and finding gear. I think that's really all it takes because everywhere I know, goalies are always in demand. So it's not too hard to find somebody to let you play goalie, even if it's for like a drop in. So I think that's probably it for talking about goalies. But now for every other position, for everyone else out there. Really, I'm going to start with just kind of talking the different positions through. Let's start with just the very basic overviews of the positions, just so everyone is on the same day. All right. So you have your left and right wingers, your center, left and right defense. Now your defense. Basically, at the most basic level, what your defense is looking to do is in the offensive zone, you're hanging around the blue line, you're hanging around the top of the defensive zone to be an outlet for the forwards. And trying to be the extra person that's up there that they can go to to get pucks on the net or get them back in and keep pucks in the offensive zone. That's a big key. Keep pucks in the offensive zone so everyone doesn't have to come out and reset. On the defensive side, being defenseman, this is really where your work comes in of defensemen or the players that are obviously playing near the goalie, lower down in the defensive zone to get pucks out of the zone. Keep, you know, hopefully keep players from shooting at the goalie and just kind of prevent easy shots from people. So that's the very, very basic overview of defense. Now, your wingers are kind of the exact opposite. In the defensive zone, you're hanging around at the blue line or wherever the other team's defensemen are to really try and stop them from getting the puck. It's really prevention of that and stop them from shooting and also being available for the defensemen to chip pucks out so you can get them out of the zone easier and help with that. And on the offensive side, it's generally playing lower down near the goalie in the offensive zone to try and pass the puck around and get shots off. Again, I know oversimplified version and center. Generally, in Beer League center, you just kind of do everything. You are the third winger, the third defenseman, the backup for everyone, everyone's outlet for anything, everyone's extra person. So if a defenseman decides to rush the puck up, it's at the most basic thing, and it generally centers job to cover for that, or make sure somebody's covering for that, so that there is two people at the blue line. Same thing if somebody doesn't get back in time to whatever place they're going to center, it's really your job to cover that. So I think that is the most basic overview you can have of this. I do plan on throughout the summer, putting out a couple of videos that kind of show very basic beer league strategy for the different positions. So you kind of have an idea of what you should be covering, where you should be, and the differences that there are there, and kind of some visual cues that help you out, figure out so you don't get sucked down too low or too high or whatever in the zone. But I think hopefully that kind of covers it. And for beginners, kind of one of the biggest things in the beginning for a lot of people is choosing their position. You know, it's a big deal for a lot of beginners is picking where you're going to, what position you're going to play. And I think it comes down to a couple of different things with that is one, you don't have to stick with whatever position you pick. You know, you don't have to just say, hey, I decided that, you know, I'm going to start out as a left wing. And then that's what you're always going to be. That's, you don't have to, you can, you can always swap that around and try different things. Try different positions. You know, they all require some different skill sets, and it's good to expand and try those different skill sets and kind of see, you know, what they require and what you're good at. And it's also a good way to see the things that you need to improve on out there. Also, if you are a beginner and you're playing with more seasoned people, one of the common things I see, and I don't understand why it is, is, hey, you're not, you know, you're newer, probably not as good of a skater, don't really know what you're doing. We're going to put you on defense. That is a terrible place to try and hide somebody on defense. You should always try and have some of your better skaters back there because they are the last kind of bastion of defense usually. So unless they really know what they're doing, clean defense and positioning and stuff like that, you kind of want some pretty good skaters back there. You can't get away with having a whole bunch of terrible skaters unless you want your goalie to face a lot of shots. So don't just throw all the new guys back on defense. You know, put them in different different areas. And another thing I see with people when they first start off and you're kind of going through whatever learned to skate or whatever kind of program like that, and it comes time to start playing actual games and you're picking positions, a lot of people are very ardent on, I only want to play the position of my favorite player, and that's it. And that's great if that's where you want to start. But don't just stick with that. You know, like I said, try out other stuff, especially for beginners. It's a great thing to do. I also think it's super important for more seasoned people to try different positions. I think switching positions is a great help, even if it's for a game. So if you're thinking about maybe switching positions, maybe you're new and you're thinking about trying different ones, or you've been playing hockey for a while and you're thinking, maybe I should, here are some good times you should really consider switching positions. If you're just kind of feel like you're lost in either the defensive zone or offensive zone every game, if you don't really know what's going on, you feel lost with it. If you ever touch the puck and you want to, or you're just getting bored with how things are going, you don't think it's fun playing whatever position. Generally, as a defenseman, you probably don't touch the puck as much and you're not carrying it as much. So maybe you want to try playing forward because you want to carry it more. Maybe you're not skating as much as you'd like to. So you don't want to play wing anymore. You want to play center because you want to skate a whole lot. You know, if there's stuff that you're not happy with, how you're getting to play and how things are breaking down for you at every game, a position change might be worth trying. Not saying that's going to cure everything, but worth a try. There is definitely a difference, though, between switching positions to try and learn a little bit more about hockey and learn some of the flow of the game and learn how things go and change up how your skill set matches up with what you're trying to do versus just being to play something more. So think if you switched to a position, say you've played a couple of games at left wing, and you're just not loving it. You don't think it's really for you. You'd rather play something else. So the next couple of games in, say, game number five. Now you switch to play defense. You play one game there, go, I like it. And you want to switch again. Maybe, you know, give it a couple of games. One game isn't going to change everything. It can take a while to learn a new position, learn the nuances, learn the differences of what you see and don't see out there. So don't be super quick to just want to move around and change positions because, you know, say you want to touch the puck more, you're not scoring enough or something like that. That's not necessarily position change is really going to help that. And I will note here as something that I have noticed for years and years and years throughout hockey through organized, unorganized, whatever. Almost everyone wants to be a center. So much like with little kids, you have to remember not everyone gets to be a center. Okay. You only have so many of those on a team. So just think about that. All right. So say you have decided you're going to switch positions, or you want to try something new. What do you do in looking at different positions? What can they help you with? What can they teach you? Even if you're only doing it for a couple of games, why bother doing it in the first place? So, the stuff I see, starting from the back, playing defense, I think the biggest things you see when you're back there is because you're kind of behind the play offensively, it really helps you see passing lanes, I think, better. It helps you see angling that people are doing. It really helps you kind of sit back on offense and watch stuff develop, because you're not really in the thick of it as much, you are kind of behind what's going on. So, it helps you see how stuff develops offensively, but also helps you see how your teammates move and work with and without the puck. When you play defense and you have the puck on your stick in the offensive zone, you notice when your forwards aren't moving, when they're not moving to get open, and maybe they think they are. You know, it goes back to previous times we've talked about watching yourself on video. This is a very eye-opening thing for a lot of people. They think they're moving all over the place and getting really open to try and get passes. But when you're sitting back watching it, they're not. You know, the defender's still right on them, or yeah, they moved away from the defender's body, but the defender's stick can still knock any pass away. So, it really lets you kind of sit back and see that offensively. And on the defensive side, you have to be really responsible. So, very similarly, it makes you have to be aware of who's getting covered, who's not getting covered, where you have to pick up someone and see, you know, hey, you know, as someone that usually plays defense, I notice a lot if wingers don't get themselves open for breakout passes. I notice if wingers don't cover the points because the puck keeps going back to them. I notice if centers don't come help out defensively. I notice if the other defenseman doesn't really cover their person very well, you know, so there's always somebody open near the net. You know, you notice those things a lot more when you're playing defense because that's really your job to keep your head on a swivel and see those things. And it really does make you put your head on a swivel to notice this stuff and see it, more so than probably any other position in time on the ice where your defenseman in the defensive zone. All right. Now, if you are switching over to play wing, what are you looking for? To me, wing is really about supporting everything. In the defensive zone, like I was saying, defensive zone, you have to be watching, you know, your defenseman that you're covering, but you also have to kind of be watching behind you to know where the puck's at. So you really have to watch being aware of kind of what's in front of you and what's behind you, which can be really tricky. But watching that, because you are probably the person that the defenseman is hoping to get the puck to, to get it out of the zone or carry it out of the zone. But you have defensive responsibilities, so you can't just hang around waiting for pucks. So it's learning to support like that defensively. And offensively is you have to really kind of watch where your other forwards are moving and see where they're moving and see where there is or isn't time and space or little pockets that you can get to to get open and try and get passes or try to make passes. It's kind of the other end of what I was saying for defensemen of who sit back and can kind of see the whole thing play out in front of them. Your wings like that, you're really in the thick of it. So it's kind of the opposite end of seeing all that play out in front of you. It's what's going on directly around you and how you can move to make, open up lanes for defensemen to get passes or to shoot the puck or even looking back to see to get them the puck. So they can because there's nothing open right in front. Or can you move and pull defensemen away from the other forward so they can get open? Or are you someone that you're going to try and get in front of the goalie and clog up space and make it hard for them to see around you? And how does that affect things? So it's kind of like I said, it's very opposite end of what the defensemen do, but it's really supporting all the other players out there to try and help with getting the puck to where it's supposed to go. Centers, what does centers do? So one of the funniest things that I've heard is playing center teaches you cardio humility, which I think is pretty true because center kind of has to do the things of everybody. The position is really filling in where the wingers aren't being, and maybe they should be filling in where the defensemen aren't, and maybe they should be. But also being an extra winger, basically in the offensive zone to. Let me take a quick moment to invite you to head over to thebeerleaguer.com where you can check out previous podcast episodes, keep up with all the goofy and sometimes informative social media posts, and contact the show. There's an easy to use contact form, a button to leave voicemails, and a newsletter sign up. All of us here would love to hear your thoughts on this episode or ideas for future ones. Now back to the show. You know, get shots off, move pucks around, try and get people open. But also being an extra defenseman in the defensive zone to help support the defensemen. If they're both covering people on each side, someone in the slot might be open, and that's your job to cover that person. So it's really having to be aware of everyone on the ice. Not just your teammates, but the other team as well. Really being aware of where everyone is and where you need to be and where you can help the most. So that's why, yes, great skating and being fast and move around is super important for centers, but also awareness. Like I was talking about head on the swivel, that is huge for centers because you have to know where everything is with it. And it's hard to do that. It's really hard to keep track of all those things. So even if you're not the best skater on your team or the fastest skater, but if you have really great awareness of everyone, that could help you playing center a lot. And goalie, hey, if you want to play goalie, go for it. I think most people should probably give a try goalie. Like I said, even if it's at a drop in or a stick and puck or something like that, just to kind of see. Because, man, it's a whole different experience than any other position out there. Everything is different. Skating is different. How you move is different. Obviously, all the gear and what you're trying to do is different. The pace of the game is different because, you know, think about it, for every other player, you're always in it. You're skating up and down the ice, always somehow engaged in the game. Whereas goalies, when the puck's in the other zone, they're not in it, really. You know, I mean, they're aware of what's going on, but they're not in it. Whereas when the puck's in their zone, they are all over the place. You know, when you're thinking of hockey movement, it's usually thought of in quick shifts. You know, it's a ton of movement for, in beer league terms, two, three, four minutes, and then sitting on the bench for a couple of minutes, and then back out on the ice for two, three, four minutes, and then sitting on the bench for a couple of minutes. For goalies, it's way more in extreme of that. It is, say, 90 seconds of a flurry of crazy activity, and then maybe a puck almost gets out, doesn't get out, so you have a bit of a slow down for 30 seconds, but then another 90 seconds of all over the place, back and forth, stuff going, going, going, going. Then the puck goes in the other zone, and it's three or four minutes of nothing. It is a very different thing. So I think that's the biggest thing you can learn from playing goalie is just how different and difficult it can be. All right, so switch around positions. I think it's useful. You know, it helps you learn, I think, a little bit of empathy when the different positions ask you to do things, you know, because you kind of see it. I think it really helps with your awareness on the ice of what people are and aren't doing and what they should be doing and seeing it from a different perspective. And really, that leads into, I mean, your hockey IQ, but I think that's really your, honestly, your beer league IQ. It always is very surprising to me when you see people that almost always play forward, move up to move to play defense, or people that almost always play defense, move forward and just see after even like two shifts, how different they see things and how much they notice like, oh, hey, I get what you're saying when you're going, hey, try and get that puck out, or I see what you're saying when not keeping that puck in the offensive zone, and that is really slowing us down and stuff like that. It kind of quickly will get you to start noticing stuff. All right. So say you've heard all this and you're going, hey, I really would love to try switching positions. How should I approach this without sounding like a jerk? All right. Well, first off, I will say as a captain, I'm pretty sure almost everyone has told me at some point, I'm a center, I want to play center. Because like I said, everyone thinks they're a center. Because, I don't know, everyone thinks that they are. So I wouldn't say that. I wouldn't just come and say I want to be a center. If you want to play a different position, just talk to whoever is doing that. Maybe if you have a captain that runs that stuff, great. If it's just like a team-wide thing, great. Maybe if you have set positions, talk to somebody that's playing the position you want and see if somebody there wants to switch with you. Say you're playing right wing, you want to try playing defense. Talk to the guys who usually play defense. Say, hey, does somebody want to try playing right wing for a couple of games? We could swap out. But for me, the biggest thing, if you're going to do that, is actually commit to trying to do the position correctly. You know, we always have on my teams generally a shortage of people that want to play defense. And it's a shortage of people that want to play defense, but then it's an even smaller amount of people that are willing to play defense and will actually play defense. Because people say that they will do it, say that they'll come back and play, but they really don't. They line up on the faceoff as a defenseman, and as soon as the puck drops, they're back to playing forward. It doesn't happen as much with forward, although we do have people that normally play defense, and they move up to forward, and they forget that they're supposed to be playing forward, and they forget that they're supposed to be up in the offense, and they're not helping out up there. And as soon as, you know, when you switch positions, and you're trying a new position, or doing a different position than you normally play, that's going to happen, but it's the effort to doing that. You know, it's the effort to, hey, I'm going to actually commit to trying to help out playing, you know, whatever position there is, and doing it somewhat correctly, or as best as I can with it. So, if you're going to try switching positions, you're going to ask to switch positions, actually commit and try switching positions. So, I would love to hear, for anybody out there, if you have, any times that you've, you know, swapped around positions, different positions that you've tried, or people on your team have tried, or maybe you've even forced people to try, and how it has or has not worked out. For myself, I try to, just about every year, in one of the games near the end of the season, usually not the last game, but depending on how things are going, you know, if we're not, if it's not really gonna destroy our making the playoffs or anything like that, if we don't win the game, I like to do a game where I kind of just swap everybody. You know, everybody that's defense plays up, everybody that plays up plays defense, and just swap everyone for a game. And honestly, it's usually a bit of a mess in the beginning because people aren't used to it, and they're also not used to seeing the people that they normally think of in their positions. They're playing a little bit differently, and it winds up being a little bit of a goofy mess for a little while. But I think it's helpful. I think it's good for people to see that, and I think it accomplishes what it's supposed to, which is just getting everybody, one, a little bit out of their comfort zone towards the end of the season to kind of jolt everybody back into being more present for every game, but also reminding people of the different positions and what they're supposed to be doing. And hopefully then, as we start going then into playoffs, being a little bit more empathetic of what you're asking and what is being asked of them and what they can ask other people and what to expect for the season, the rest of the season. Like I previously mentioned, over the summer here, I will be doing a couple of short videos that hopefully help kind of illustrate positioning and some real super basic beer league strategies for stuff. Really aim to kind of more beginner people, because I see that online a lot when people start. They really don't know what to do for different positions. They have a general idea, but don't really know stuff. So nothing crazy, no crazy positioning tactics or any kind of systems or anything like that, but just some real basic stuff on there and kind of where people, you know, hey, this is the zones expect you to cover and expect you to plan. And then if somebody gets caught somewhere, how do you rotate to fix that? So expect to see some videos about that with some probably terrible art skills of me throughout the summer. And if you want to keep up with some of these things and you're not subscribed to the YouTube channel, do that. But you can also go to the beerleaguer.com and subscribe to the monthly newsletter. It is just once a month. And it's basically just a recap of all the stuff that I've put out for the month. So podcasts, videos, I highlight some of the funny TikToks and stuff like that that I've done and see those. So nothing else in there. Just a once a month kind of update on things you may have missed. And researching for this episode, I'm looking up some of the kind of common questions people have when choosing a position for hockey, starting hockey, what positions they play and stuff. I found some funny quotes that I want to share with you guys. I think these are pretty good. Center is cardio jail with face-offs. Triangoli is like trying to be a Jedi with zero force powers. Defense, where forwards go to die or hide. I think those are all true. I, yeah, I think they're all true. All right, everybody, that's gonna wrap it up for this episode of The Beer Leaguer Podcast. As always, I appreciate you listening. Appreciate you taking the time. And I hope this was something useful for you. Hope you either learned a lot or picked up a couple of nuggets from things. Let me know if you've ever tried changing positions, if you have successfully changed positions over long term, or if there has been a hilarious reason that you've gone back to an old position. I'd love to hear about it. Send the show an e-mail or direct message or something. All that info at thebeerleaguer.com. Thanks a lot for listening, and we'll catch you in the next one.