Quote:
Originally Posted by HossTheBoss
The point of a backcheck is to apply pressure to the opposing player with the puck, who's attempting to bring the puck into the offensive zone. Boardplay has nothing to do with it. Forechecking? Sure.. but not backchecking.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Marotte Marauder
That is not a complete definition of backchecking. Do you even know who the most dangerous player on the ice is?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HossTheBoss
Enlighten me.
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The first forward back does try to apply pressure on the puck carrier, allowing his defensman to step up and make an agressive play.
What about the other 4 skaters on the opposing team? Doesn't one pick up the their man on the backcheck? 4 players need to be accounted for beside the puck carrier. It is that part of backchecking that typically breaks down as most players key on the puck, even at elite levels of play.
When that part of the backcheck breaks down it leads to an odd man rush which if allowed to develop will give rise to the most dangerous player on the ice. He isn't the player with puck, he typically isn't the guy driving to the far post, he's the late guy coming after losing his backchecker.
Playing without the puck or defending a guy without the puck is the least interesting of a player's development, yet the most important. 80% of the time, you don't have the puck nor does your defensive responsibility have the puck.
PS, this is what holds VS back. If gets elite level awareness away from the puck, he would become a perrenial All Star, the other attributes are there. This is why he always was an intriguing prospect.