Troy Smith – Developing Defensemen

2016 Hockey Coaches Conference
Topic: Developing Defensemen
Presenter: Troy Smith

So often in today’s game, and we’re talking right down to atom-aged players, coaches put a huge emphasis instilling systems within their group that will allow them to win hockey games. The problem is that without the proper fundamentals or foundational skills, the players will never have a chance of executing these systems.

We reached out to Troy Smith, formally an Associate Coach with the OHL’s Hamilton Bulldogs and Head Coach with the Kitchener Rangers. Troy walked us through some of the fundamentals he worked on a daily basis in practice to instil in his defensemen. What we learned is that basics of the position are well, pretty basic. But they are skills required for virtually every shift and all too often aren’t passed on to young defensemen.