1st goal night: Simple tips to improve your goal scoring abilities as a defenseman
1st NHL goals from Mitchell, Beaudin and more
In a research I did last year analyzing 347 even-strength goals scored by defenseman in the NHL 2019/20 season, 52% of them were scored in zone 1 or 2 from the IIHF scoring zone:
Additionally, more goals have been scored by defenseman on even-men zone entries than odd-man-rushes (59% of goals by defenseman on zone entries were on even-men situations). On 226 defenseman goals analyzed from offensive zone play (OZP, goals off FC, OZFW), 52% of them were from defenseman activation (versus point shots).
Last night in the NHL, Hawks’ promising young defenseman Ian Mitchell and Nicolas Beaudin scored their 1st NHL goal. Also, Mark Pysyk scored his 1st goal as a Dallas Stars and Neal Pionk his 1st one of the season. These goals are all great examples of the numbers I found in my research last year. We’ll break down these goals to get some tips on how you can improve your goal scoring prowess as a defenseman.
Ian Mitchell 1st NHL goal
Mitchell begins the sequence with a shoulder check as he plays the role of D2 on the retrieval. Because of great habits, he can identify that if his partner completes the breakout pass, he's in a great position to activate and jump in the rush.
Like I found in my research, you need to be in the rush even if it's not an odd-man situation. Mitchell shows great awareness of space. After sprinting inside dots, Mitchell makes sure the Hawks are in an even-men situation. He reads that Jackets players (96 & 13) are puck focused, so he now has an opportunity to get lost by jumping into the open space wide. Great habits + awareness (what the defensive are doing & open space) + great skating + hard work to jump in = 1st NHL goal.
Nicolas Beaudin 1st NHL goal
As we see in my research, activating in the offensive zone and finding ways to get into high-danger scoring spot in the offensive zone (IIHF zone 1 & 2) drastically improves your chance to score goals as a defenseman.
Here's a great example from Beaudin. One of the best way to know when to activate in the offensive zone as a defenseman is when you can see the number (back) of the winger covering you.
In this clip, Beaudin has many indications it's a great time to activate back door:
-He can see the number (50) of the winger covering him
-Columbus DZ coverage have five players covering the right low quadrant in the defensive zone so there's a lot of open space back door
-As DeBrincat climbs up the wall and his D partner Zadorov's sliding on the blueline, CHI now has a great F3 and strong offensive movement/rotation
Great read, offensive IQ and timing from Beaudin!
Mark Pysyk 1st goal as a Stars
Several similar concepts to Beaudin's goal. As Pysyk sees the back (#48) of Carolina's defensive winger covering him, he activates scissors (switch) with Robertson. He now finds himself in a much better scoring zone for his 1st goal as a Dallas Stars!
Neil Pionk 1st goal of the season
Many great details from Pionk on this goal. As he receives the low-to-high pass, instead of firing a low-to-high one-timer, he uses deception to fake a shot. Now Ottawa defensive winger (18) is frozen and can't defend anymore (his feet are in the opposite way of Pionk's movement). After that, he finds F3 then activates with great off the puck movement to find himself in a much better zone for scoring opportunities. Great goal!
To resume:
Good habits and read will help you improve your abilities to score goals as a defenseman:
-Shoulder checks
-Jumping in the rush, even when it's not an odd-man situation
-Reading the defensive players (their numbers, where are they, who they are pressing)
-Reading and jumping into open space
-Activating in the offensive zone to get in high-scoring area (IIHF zone 1 & 2)
-Using deception to manipulate the opponent and to buy time & space
-Off the puck movement with passing plays