Systems Analyst: Breaking down the Oilers’ defensive zone coverage

When I started as a video coach with Sheldon Keefe and the Toronto Marlies in 2015, Andrew Brewer was The Guy with the Maple Leafs. He’s about as accomplished as anyone in that field can be. He won an Olympic gold with Hockey Canada, with his video work also earning him an IIHF World Championship and gold at the NHL’s World Cup. He spent five seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs (his valued input elevated him to that title from just “video coach”), an assistant coach with the Red Wings for a year prior to that, and he spent two years with the Florida Panthers after his time with the Leafs.

These days “Brew” (as he shall be henceforth referred) is the manager of Hockey Business Development at FastModel Technologies (they provide scouting, diagramming, and roster management tools for hockey coaches and management), which means he’s finally able to weigh in on things more publicly. You may have noticed that on his Twitter feed here, where he’s shared some commentary that’s super worthwhile to fans who want to learn more about the game.

Last week when the Edmonton Oilers were flailing (pre-Heritage Classic win), Jay Woodcroft’s “system” somehow found its way into the news. Fans were questioning it, and it became public enough that players like Zach Hyman started referencing how it was being doubted in the media.

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The volume of references to “the system” reached a critical mass, so it occurred to me that it could use some public explaining. Brew and I were exchanging some texts about what was going on in Edmonton, and I figured the best way to inform people about their “system” was to interview him and provide video references, so people can better understand it all.

As I noted, this is NHL-quality video work that Brew does, so my sincere thanks to him for giving us his time and walking us through how they play in Edmonton (and if they should play differently, or not).

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THE OILERS’ SYSTEM

JB: “Brew, thanks for doing this.”

AB: “No problem, happy to.”

JB: “Great. I’m just going to keep the questions simple and straightforward, and I’ll let you do your thing from there. So Brew, what d-zone system do the Oilers use?”

AB: “The Oilers are currently using a system simply called a ‘zone defence,’ or sometimes called a ‘box-plus-one,’ which is the most common system in the NHL. It relies on players to cover an assigned ‘zone’ on the ice versus being assigned a specific player like you would in a ‘man-on-man’ system. It looks like the Oilers are using a system very similar to the one that Vegas used to win the Stanley Cup last season.”

In this system, as the puck changes sides, it’s a pretty simple rotation.

JB: “So ‘zone defence’ is the general structure: protect your area of the ice and hand opposing players off to teammates as they move around. Is there more to it than that?”

AB: “Way more. An important note: Not all zone coverage systems are the same! There are ways you can adjust the system to fit your team like:

• Winger positioning on stalled pucks in the corner, high or low?

• Amount of pressure applied on pucks in the corner – will you swarm?

• Who ‘doubles’ the battle in the corner – the centre or the second defenceman?

• How do you handle motion at the top? Do your D or centre follow up high, or do they always release?

• Do you front the puck or look to box out on point shots?

• What are your ‘trigger points’ to pressure the puck?”

As you can see below, it’s safe for defenders to be passive when the offensive team is in full control of the puck and play. But you’re always looking for a ‘trigger point,’ whether that’s a shot, a bobbled pass, or some excuse to get aggressive and jump the offensive players. While you wait for that, you’re controlling and steering the offence away from the dangerous ice.

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JB: “When explained like this, Brew, a system can seem pretty failsafe. You hand guys off, areas of the ice are always covered, and all should be hunky dory. What do you see as the pros and cons of this structure?”

AB: “Pros…

Safe: Protect the slot. When in doubt, return to the slot in your box-plus-one and you can protect the area of the ice where over 85 per cent of goals are scored.

Staying in Position: Your defence stay close to the net. If opposition has motion, your best defenders won’t get pulled away from the net, leaving your scoring wingers to box out the opposition in the slot.

Maintain Energy: Allows you to conserve energy, with less skating in the defensive zone thanks to staying in your own quadrant.

Cons…

Sorting Out: Players must “think” who they are covering as the opposition moves around the zone weaving in and out of their “zone.” This is something coaches call “sorting out” the play. Sorting out can lead to indecision and momentary lapses in coverage while players adjust between who they are covering.”

As you’ll see below, sorting out requires a ton of communication. “I’ve got him now,” “watch back door,” “yours,” and “mine” are necessary (I’m not a big fan of the pointing you’ll see below, but it’s better than nothing). Man-on-man is a lot more idiot proof, to use the language of coaches.

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AB: “One more con. It’s passive. At times a zone system can be passive if players aren’t finding those ‘trigger points’ to kill plays. If you rely solely on ‘parking the bus’ in front of your net, you won’t be able to regain puck possession and go on offence.

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JB: “OK, let’s go a little more rapid fire on the questions. Pertaining to the Oilers … Do they have the right personnel to play this system?”

AB: “Ultimately yes! This is the most common defensive system in all of hockey. Teams and players have had success playing this way, including being the system that Connor McDavid played while winning a World Junior and World Championship gold.”

JB: “What would the optimal system for their talent be?”

AB: “This is a great system for the Oilers because of one of their team flaws: depth. Man-on-man requires ‘your man’ to be better than ‘their man’ to win those one-on-one battles, and while that might work for the top-six with the Oilers, when it gets to the bottom-six they might be outmatched by their opposition. Zone defence allows the Oilers to defend by committee and will allow them to play a consistent style that works for all 12 forwards in the lineup.”

JB: “What kind of players might excel/fail because of it?”

AB: “Two keys of the system are communication and hockey sense. Players need to sort quickly what is going on around them and make decisions on where to go and who to cover. Players who don’t talk and have trouble reading plays will struggle in this system. On the positive side, players who may not be as fast but are extremely intelligent will excel by using their brains and not their feet to put themselves in the right spots.”

JB: “And finally, how do teams try to beat that system once they figure out how you’re playing?”

AB: “Motion. Teams will look to exploit a zone system by having motion in the offensive zone, moving in and out of the defensive quadrants, forcing the Oilers to switch between who they are covering, leading to indecision and lapses in coverage.”

Below you can see instances where an Oilers forward loses a step, but it shouldn’t be a problem. In theory, they could just hand off that player to their own defenceman, but in these cases, those reads were missed.

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AB: “Also, they will use the weak side of the ice. While a zone does a good job outnumbering on the strong side (puck side) of the ice, this leaves the weak side of the ice open. Teams will use long passes to stretch out the offensive zone and force seams and holes in the coverage.”

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AB: “No defensive zone system is perfect. A team needs discipline, patience and the will to win puck battles to be successful, but the Oilers have the structure in place to have team success!”

JB: “Thanks again for your time, Brew.”

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