Coaching a hockey team gives you the opportunity to find a style of play that best suits the talent on your team. You have to assess the physical and mental makeup of your team to figure out what gives your players the best chance of competing consistently throughout the hockey season. That decision is based on your player's talent and your ability to teach that style.
Offensive Style
Teams that have fast players have an advantage when they go on the attack. They can outskate their opponent with their speed and use quick passes to to set up teammates with break out plays. This type of play was exemplified by the Montreal Canadiens teams of the 1970s, the Edmonton Oilers teams of the 1980s and to some extent by the Detroit Red Wings of the 1990s and 2000s. With this style of play, the coach asks his players to press the attack by passing to a teammate who is out in front. This is called head-manning the puck. The object is to help your team get as many 1-on-0, 2-on-1 and 3-on-2 advantages as possible.
Dump and Chase
The dump-and-chase style of play is effective for teams with bigger and stronger players who don't have the speed to head-man the puck. When the puck goes in the corner, they still win the battle for the loose puck more often than not. This style demands that players maintain a dominant work ethic that will allow them to skate hard after the puck, battle for it in the corner, come away with the puck and then make a pass to a teammate so she get a clean shot on net. You must be in excellent condition and be willing to absorb a hard body check to make this style work. The Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers are examples of hard-working teams that employed this style.
Defensive Style
Some coaches will assess their rosters and realize they don't have a lot of offensive talent to work with and that they are better off employing a defensive style that slows down the opponent. This style of play -- often called the left-wing lock -- is not a crowd-pleaser because it leads to low-scoring games. Teams that prevent breakout passes and take the puck away from opponents in the neutral zone can control the play and come away with wins on many nights. The New Jersey Devils used this style to win Stanley Cups in the 1990s and 2000s.
Common Factor
Whether your team is composed of fast skaters, strong players who can control the corners or defensive specialists, it must have good-to-great goaltending to have a chance to compete. If your goaltending is not up to par, even the fastest-skating teams that can seemingly score at will fall behind and fail to catch up on some nights. All systems must preach defensive responsibility and find a way to give goaltenders help. When goaltenders stop difficult shots consistently, their team has a chance to win most nights.
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