Dual-role players? Defensemen as wingers show it can be done
Brendan Smith caught his breath for a few seconds on the bench before New York Rangers coach David Quinn called his name again.
Smith had just skated a shift as a defenseman and was needed at forward, too. The natural defenseman hopped over the boards and got back on the ice at a different position.
“The more I do it, I get more comfortable,” he said.
Smith is one of a couple of throwback-style players bouncing between forward and defense this season. He and Florida's Mark Pysyk are the latest to follow the lead of Hall of Famers Red Kelly and Mark Howe and present-day Brent Burns and Dustin Byfuglien, and their experience could open the door for more multiposition players in a sport that usually defines being a center, wing or defenseman very specifically.
“It’s definitely different,” Pysyk said. “I think guys at this level probably could make the switch given enough time to get comfortable with their new position because everybody skates well.”
Kordell Stewart earned the nickname “Slash” by playing quarterback and wide receiver in the NFL and slugger/pitcher Shohei Otani can star for the Los Angeles Angels in multiple ways in baseball. But specialization in hockey starts early as it does in other sports — forwards, defensemen and goalies all tend to be identified as such at a young age.
Smith as recently as Thursday shifted from his regular wing position back to defense to fill amid injuries, and the same night, Pysyk — back for another stint at forward — scored his third goal of the season. For one game in November, (almost) lifelong defenseman Tyler Lewington played a few shifts up front for the salary-cap strapped Washington Capitals when they could only dress 11 forwards.
“There's a lot more to a forward's game than I thought before,” said Lewington, 25, who hadn’t played forward since he was 10. “It's something that's not easy.”
This kind of thing was more common in the 1920s and ’30s, Kelly played his first 12-plus seasons in Detroit as a defenseman and next eight-plus in Toronto as a forward, winning the Stanley Cup eight times — four at each position. Howe played his first three World Hockey Association seasons as a left winger alongside dad Gordie and brother Marty before switching to defense full-time.
Before video was more prevalent, Howe used to watch game replays late at night to figure out how to hone his game on the blue line. He made the Hall of Fame primarily for his time as a defenseman. Before and after his transition, he noticed differences like fewer scoring chances in practice as a defenseman — and more idle time on the bench as a forward biding his time for the next shift.
Now pro scouting director with the Detroit Red Wings, Howe called Smith the perfect example of a player who can adjust to the variations of playing forward and defense.
“(As a defenseman) it's more of a game of you go when you can, but you have to be responsible defensively. You have to learn to read and when to jump up in the play,” Howe said. “As a forward, you're learning at key points of the game: ‘When do you try to make a play? When is it a smart play to dump the puck in the corner? When you definitely not want to turn a puck over?’ And with both (positions), you take different chances.”
While Pysyk hadn’t played defense since he was 6 or 7 until earlier this season, Quinn knew from recruiting Smith to Boston University that this dual role was possible. Quinn asked Smith last season to try it, and it worked so well that it has stuck, with Smith also killing penalties as a defenseman.
“You've got a guy who obviously plays forward 5-on-5 but he's been one of our better (penalty) killing defensemen,” Quinn said. “It gives you a little bit of flexibility on your roster, which is always nice game in and game out.”
Three-time Stanley Cup-winning coach Joel Quenneville trusts Pysyk the same way. He won the Cup in 2010 with Chicago moving Byfuglien back and forth and using the combination of his big frame, hard shot and smooth skating as an advantage.
“That versatility was a great asset to have in playoff series,” Quenneville recalled. “Sometimes you could put him on a forward line to create space, I'd like to say, on power play (as a) net-front presence, but then you've got a big shot at the point. You could multitask with him in the course of the games.”
The same was possible for Burns when he played forward and defense with Minnesota earlier in his career. He became a full-time defenseman before a 2011 trade to San Jose and won the Norris Trophy as the best player at that position in 2017.
Quenneville likes having a defenseman at forward at times because they tend think of the game more conservatively.
“They usually have that mindset of being above the puck, so they keep themselves in the play, and defensively they have that responsibility,” Quenneville said. “You get to handle the puck a little bit more, but I think they're always in that position where offensively they're complementing the guys they're playing with, being either the safety guy or the extra guy that's always going to be in the right spots.”
Pysyk, who’d prefer to play defense but can do both, is still getting used to the idea that he is not always the last guy back.
“It's weird seeing a pass go past you and then chasing it from the other end," he said.
Smith, who is in his 10th NHL season, is more comfortable on defense but thinks he could be a “slash" player if need be.
“The biggest adjustment would be to change your mindset of defensive to offensive and knowing where to be at the right time because there's so many moving parts,” Smith said. “The hardest part is making sure that you can mentally prepare yourself for it.”
Vegas Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith sees his brother playing two different positions and knows he — and many others — wouldn’t be able to handle it.
“I can't skate backward, can't stop anyone,” Reilly Smith said. “It takes a lot of versatility to be able to do that.”
