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Easier to teach players, individually and as a team, to defend, to take away from the opponent, than it is to create offense.

So we see teams using passive forechecking systems, all the way to the now-famous neutral zone trap. In the trap scheme, defenders lie in wait in the middle of the ice, hoping to steer the offensive team into an area where they will be outnumbered, causing the offensive team to relinquish the puck by turning it over or dumping it into the opponent’s defensive zone.

This is a recent development in hockey that makes the longstanding concept of head-manning the puck obsolete. Head-manning has been a common cry since the 1970s, when it was deemed selfish and unproductive for a player to lug the puck through the neutral zone instead of advancing it ahead to a waiting teammate. Today, that waiting teammate is usually stacked up against a wall of defenders who can strip him of the puck upon arrival. So coaches need to come up with creative ways to beat these neutral zone defenses.

Changes have also taken place in the way teams break out of their ends of the ice. With so many battles fought along the boards, the traditional clean breakout—with wingers moving wide and a center in the middle—is less likely to happen. The battles along the wall in the defensive end usually require weak-side wingers to come across and lend support, leaving a good section of the ice vacated. As the team breaking out gains the neutral zone, it needs to find a way to fill that open space, likely with the weak-side defenseman jumping up to be part of the offense.

The most important role in the transition game, however, belongs to the center. Centers have a big responsibility. They must be the connection for transition from defense to offense. Centers must support the defensemen and also the two wingers as the play moves up the ice. From the center ice face-off, the center must be the conduit that allows all five skaters to stay connected. The center should always be facing the puck so possession can be ensured. The team that has the puck the majority of the time will have the best chance of success.