Check out our new BayToday Sports Column "Bluelines." Ranjan Rupal is the play-by-play voice and Greg Theberge, a former NHL player, is the colour analyst for North Bay Battalion games on The OHL Tonight on TVCogeco. PHOTO BY LINDSAY SARAZIN.
Ranjan: The Battalion are coming off a tough weekend, but it presented a chance for fans to evaluate a pair of promising OHL defensemen: Anthony DeAngelo of the Greyhounds and Vince Dunn of the Icedogs. Greg, as a pro, you’ve seen your share of great puck-moving defensemen as well…
Greg: Well, I had the privilege of playing with him in junior hockey and saw him play a couple of games at the pro level: Larry Murphy comes to mind. A really good outlet passer; good puck-moving decisions; knew when to go; knew when to stay at home; reading skills were a real plus. But my favorite one of them all was Paul Coffey, surrounded by a great supporting cast of players with whom he could blend his offensive skills. As much as you try to model your game after him, there was no one that rushed the puck like Paul Coffey.
Ranjan: Break down Coffey’s game for me…
Greg: He was very elusive and the way he could gain speed out of his turns on puck retrieval…and, his skating posture: he wasn’t a wide-track skater like Bobby Orr, he had a regular skating style with good hip recovery, and a good long stride, and he could really change gears on you. When we played him, coach Bryan Murray always made us aware of what a threat Paul Coffey was when he joined the rush.
Ranjan: So why wear skates two sizes too small?
Greg: He liked a tight-fit boot, as do a lot of pros. Myself, I liked a tight-fit boot as well. He’d have a custom-made boot and Paul Coffey felt that the tighter the skate, the better the edge control he had, and he certainly demonstrated that.
Ranjan: We've seen some premier puck-movers in the OHL these past two seasons. Who comes to mind?
Greg: Well, right off the top, Aaron Ekblad: the way he sees the ice, the way he patrols the ice, with and without the puck. He’s one of them.
Ranjan: Miles Liberati has the wheels to be called the Battalion's premier puck mover…
Greg: Well, just recently, Miles Liberati has opened my eyes to that capacity. Against Niagara on Sunday afternoon he had 4 assists. He’s able to see the ice well, and processes his decisions well and I think he’s well-coached. Stan Butler has given him a little slack but Liberati also knows his responsibilities defensively: not getting caught out of position; not taking chances on high-risk, no-reward plays. It’s really starting to pay dividends and it’s starting to show in the stats.
Ranjan: What unique skillsets should a rushing defenseman like Miles possess?
Greg: Well, first and foremost, a rushing defenseman has to have vision. He has to have good awareness out there of when to go and when not to go. You can’t be telegraphing your rushes. A bad habit I had in junior hockey was in puck retrieval sometimes: to pick up the puck and try to skate it out of your own zone. Well, that’s not always the best formula. The best formula is knowing when to go and when not to go and you have to size that up for yourself. It’s all about reading the play and decision-making. If it’s a 1-2-2 forecheck and you feel you can beat that first man and you have good support behind you, then that’s where it starts right there. But, normally, you don’t really want to start your rush in your defensive zone. In today’s game the players move a lot quicker and faster than they were in my day and I don’t think you rush as much as in the old days. You really want to surprise your opposition with your neutral zone play, and your regroups.
Ranjan: Looking at North Bay’s defense corps, can you identify other players who might become reliable puck-moving defensemen, going forward?
Greg: Well, a puck-moving defenseman doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to carry the puck. A puck-moving defenseman can be like a Kyle Wood who’s got tremendous vision in his own zone, a long reach, a great outlet pass, and is a strong passer…as is Marcus McIvor as well. Those are good puck-moving defensemen. They know what their role is: and that’s to move the puck up to the forwards who come over on the puck side and support you. By supporting the puck side, Marcus only needs to make a 10, 15, maybe a 20-foot pass, not a hard weakside pass, going cross-ice, high risk plays getting picked off. A puck-moving defenseman is a smart defenseman who moves the puck efficiently.
Ranjan: You’ve touched on the notion that the forwards have a role in enabling a puck-moving D-man to make full use of his abilities…
Greg: Well, I’m big on defensive zone play and not making the rink-wide passes in your own zone. You come up the wall, overload the puck side; you’ve got good puck support from, not only the centre that’s coming across, but the far winger that comes over. You have all three forwards that are lined up in half the ice, or one-third the ice, supporting that puck; and chip it off the wall. It’s everything off the wall, and nothing up the middle. Because I’m a defenseman, I want that puck support to be coming over on my side. When it goes D to D to the shortside winger; centreman comes over, supports the puck; he chips it off the wall and then the farside winger comes over to add that puck support. Sure you have all three guys on that puck side, but you’re making sure you’re going to clear the zone.
Ranjan: You’ve mentioned 3-Wood and Marcus, the veterans…what about the up and comers?
Greg: I really like the upside in Mark Shoemaker, in being a good puck-moving defenseman. I think he sees the ice well, as well as Austin Kosack. Riley Bruce is a big, lumbering, strong defenseman that needs to develop his game even further at this level. If I was as big as Riley, I have to somehow get myself in a nasty mood before each game and try and go out there with a bit of sandpaper to enhance my skillset.
Ranjan: North Bay fans missed the opportunity to witness the development of one of the most dynamic puck-moving defensemen in the NHL today: P.K. Subban of the Montreal Canadiens. As an OHL hockey Dad, you had a chance to watch P. K. playing against your son Brett and his Peterborough Petes…what did we miss?
Greg: Well, P. K. showed a lot of good enthusiasm and he was an energy player for the Belleville Bulls. George Bennett did a great job developing him for the next level. P. K. would try this: he was a right-hand shot, so I could identify with him, and he would get that puck in the neutral zone, or just in his shallow defensive zone, and he would fake like he’s going up the short wall, and the next thing you know, it’s a quick spinerama! He comes out the back door and he has speed and momentum going up the neutral zone, starting his attack…
Ranjan: …nicely put, Greg. As Danny Gallivan would’ve said: a hair-raising account of P. K.’s Savardian spinerama, as he gathers speed through the centre-ice area…!
