Defense: Understanding Rush Leverage

Inside or Outside leverage to defender the rush

Transitions in any sport are of vital importance. Most coaches track transitional play due to their critical influence on winning and losing games. While limiting these transitional opportunities is key, but it’s virtually impossible to avoid them. Being able to play them well is a great skill to acquire and a skill that translates to all levels of hockey.

The first element to playing transition/rushes is the concept of leverage, inside & outside.

This is most commonly associated with American football. Where the cornerbacks and linebackers are using leverage to encourage the offensive player into the areas of the field they want them to be. They do this by slightly overplaying one area.

Leverage

Outside Leverage = Positioning yourself as a defender on the outside.

This naturally encourages the offensive player toward the inside of the field. Often with the goal of pushing the player towards the help of a teammate.

Inside Leverage = Positioning yourself as a defender on the inside.

This naturally encourages the offensive player toward the outside of the field. Often with the goal of pushing the player towards the sideline where they have less space to operate.

Working the dots

Playing the rush is a key situation for any defenseman to handle. Many coaches teach working the dots as a basic concept to start.

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Here are examples of why this is a great starting point for defenders to learn:

Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak

Clip of the day - D outside the dots When playing D it’s important to stay inside of the dots. This is quality ice to be protected Watch as D losing patience or awareness and get caught outside of the dots Last clip, the Ducks execute perfectly against Marchand and the Bruins

Utilizing Rush Leverage

When a defenseman fails to establish leverage, they allow the offensive player to dictate what is going to happen next. This puts the defender in a reactive state. “Squaring up” rather than establishing proper leverage is a poor tactic for forcing or influencing play where you want it to go.

Dahlin overplays and gives away inside leverage

Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak

Lesson for O = Linear crossovers and change lanes Lesson for D = Shuffles, avoid crossing your feet

While we have been talking about how to use leverage when skating backward and defending the rush, it’s also a great concept to understand when choosing how to pivot when closing space.

Trouba (#8 white) incorrectly pivots while his defensive partner is in an outside leverage situation. This gives space for McDavid to skate between himself and his defensive partner. It’s McDavid, so the result may have been the same… yet this is still a great example for defensemen to learn from.

Key plans

The next time you’re playing the rush, remember three key concepts learned here

1. Working the dots

2. Pivoting into an inside leverage position

3. Choosing your leverage deliberately

Further reading

• The details that go into successful point play

• Why Point Shots Suck

• The key concepts of modern defensemen rush tactics

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