Since taking over as head coach of the Vancouver Canucks, Rick Tocchet has instilled his system and values into this team, and has certainly left his mark. Since day one, Tocchet has preached defensive structure and has created a strong, hardworking culture within the team.
The way the Canucks play under Tocchet is quite simple. Tocchet’s systems are relatively basic, yet effective when executed with speed and effort from the players.
Let’s break them down from the defensive zone outwards.
Defensive zone coverage
When the puck is in the corner, the Canucks break into a zone coverage. The first player in – usually a defenceman – will put pressure on the puck carrier with low support from the second man, who would normally be the centreman.
The low support is supposed to be there in case the puck gets moved to the player supporting from the opposing team or in case the player pressuring the puck carrier creates a turnover.
The other defenceman hangs around the net front area, denying a pass to the opposing team’s net-front player and ready to jump on the puck if it gets moved to the other corner.
The strong-side winger is set up at the top of the circle, approximately in line with the faceoff dot. If the puck pops out to the half-wall, the winger’s responsibility is to beat the opposing team’s defenceman to it and chip the puck out. Otherwise, the winger is responsible for staying in between the net and the defenceman he’s covering.
The weak side winger in Tocchet’s system is lower than normal, usually playing between the hash marks in the middle of the ice, taking away cross-ice passes to the slot.
If the puck shifts up the half-wall, the centreman takes over pressuring the puck carrier. The defenceman will then support low, while also maintaining position with the player in the corner, ensuring he stays between that player and the net.
The other defenceman, if an opposing player is net-front, will engage that player and battle for positioning in front of the net, boxing them out so that if a shot comes they won’t be able to get a tip on it or a rebound chance.
The strong-side winger will then shift over a bit with the opposing defenceman to stay in front, while the weak-side winger shifts slightly to stay in front of his man while also being close enough to help the net front defenceman if needed.
If the pucks get moved to the point, the Canucks tend to move into man-on-man defence. The goal of this is for the wingers to get in front of shots from their point man while the other three players find an opposing player and box them out so they can not get a piece of a shot from the blue line and not be available for rebounds.
This defensive zone coverage system is known as a box-and-one. When done correctly, it removes the middle of the ice, first and foremost. There are some soft spots around the faceoff dot on the strong side; however, the goal is for players to be within stick’s length of these soft spots so that if a puck is moved there, they can react and get a stick on those chances.
Defensive zone breakouts
Defensive zone breakouts are harder to prepare for, and most of the time, you take what you can get. Making a play to the open man that the forecheck gives up, or just chipping the puck out into the neutral zone.
Under Rick Tocchet, the Canucks breakouts have featured many D-to-D passes leading to the puck either being moved to the winger posted up on the half-wall or to the centreman swinging through the middle of the ice in support. With the strong-side winger posting up and the centreman swinging through, the weak-side winger tends to blow the zone and skate across the ice, allowing the defenceman to fire the puck high off the glass for that weak-side winger to skate onto.
The team also uses reverses to the centreman to break free from the pressure of the opponent’s forecheck. This happens when the defenceman who picks up the puck begins skating behind the net toward their defence partner, who is set up for the D-to-D pass. Instead of going D-to-D, the defenceman will drop it back for the centreman to pick up and skate with it or move to the strong-side winger on the half-wall.
Due to the lack of puck movers on the Canucks blueline, however, we see a lot of rims which can be a nightmare for a winger as it takes an extra second or two to corral the puck and make a play while a forechecker comes to pressure and make a hit. This makes it a lot harder to get pucks out and allows other teams to hem the Canucks in their zone.
Neutral zone forecheck
The Canucks neutral zone forecheck is a basic 1-2-2. The first player (F1) in on the forecheck splits the ice, using an active stick to deny a D-to-D pass, forcing the puck carrier to make a play-up-ice.
The second player (F2) on the forecheck takes the player on the half-wall, while the third player (F3) swings through the middle along with the opposing team player swinging through. If the puck gets moved to the player on the half-wall, F2 makes a play on the puck in an attempt to separate the puck from the puck carrier, while F1 swings through in support. If the puck gets moved to the player swinging through the middle of the neutral zone, F3 tries to separate them from the puck or, in both cases, force a dump-in.
The strong-side defenceman is mainly responsible for supporting and not giving up their zone easily, while the weak-side defenceman has to be ready to shift over if a cross-ice pass is made and is usually responsible for puck retrievals if the puck gets dumped in.
Neutral zone breakout
The Canucks neutral zone breakout is another one that’s simple but creates a lot of speed off the rush when entering the offensive zone if executed correctly. Execution relies on a good pass to be made by the defenceman.
One forward will hover against the boards around the red line while the other two forwards swing through with speed — one through the middle and the other on the weak side.
The defenceman’s first option is to move the puck to the forward on the boards, who can make a bump play to the forward swinging through the middle, or he can deflect the puck in to get the puck deep in the offensive zone.
Another option is to hit either player swinging through the neutral zone so that they can carry the puck in with speed.
The last option would be to carry the puck themselves and dump it in for the two players coming in with speed to get on the puck and pressure in the offensive zone.
That brings us to the offensive zone forecheck…
Offensive zone forecheck
Like their neutral zone forecheck, the Canucks mostly run a 1-2-2 when the opposing team has control of the puck; however, this does, at times, switch to a 2-1-2 when there is an opportunity to win a puck battle. The 1-2-2 sees F1 pressure the puck carrier and eliminate the D-to-D pass, while F2 takes away the pass to the half-wall, and F3 takes away the player swinging through the middle.
When the 2-1-2 comes into effect, it is usually when the team is coming in with enough speed on the forecheck that it now becomes a 50/50 chance at coming away with the puck. F1 still pressures the puck, though F2 now comes in to support and eliminate the D-to-D pass. F3 remains higher up, between the faceoff dot and the top of the circle to support and ensure an odd-man rush can’t come the other way if the first two forecheckers get beat.
Overall, Coach Tocchet’s systems, though simple, take maximum effort to be properly executed. The cliché in the Vancouver Canucks market of a ‘Tocchet player’ just means a player who is attentive to the small details within his system and a player who works hard every shift.
The system used by the Canucks is taught to most hockey players early on. That said, Tocchet likes to see his players play hard with speed, getting pucks in deep and not cheating defensively. Staying in position and competing for the team is of the utmost importance to the Canucks head coach.
Sponsored by bet365
