“It is not always about the goals, I mean you need to score to win, but you also have to be able to prevent the other guys from doing the same. Who cares if you score six if they score seven? You still lose the game. This is what I don't understand when I talk to my peers these days. It's always go, go, go, or score, score, score. There is little development time spend working below your own blue line.” - Lars Strummer
Recently at a scrum during training camp in Koln, Germany, Lars Strummer went on a rant about the amount of one dimensional forwards that seemingly come out and try to make the “big time”. For a player like Lars, playing in his own zone and being able to get the puck away from the opposition is a vital part of his game.
Looking across the league, very few forwards have ISA (International Scouting Agency) ratings above 40. A quick look around their ratings page shows Yukon forwards, Konstantin Azhishchenkov (50) and Lars Strummer (69) as well as Oslo player, Johan Hallstrom (55) are the only real noteworthy prospects that have shown any ability to play on the defensive side of things. Also a quick look at ISA ratings show Strummer (60) and Azhishchenkov (67) as being the only forwards that have spend time working on their face off abilities.
So why is defensive presence largely ignored? Well the answer have multiple answers that considered both independently and as a sum can be considered accurate. The easy answers are simply two-fold. First off, VHL coaches and general managers don't emphasize playing in their own end. The VHL is a league of scoring, where the only (or easiest) way of checking on a players progression is looking at the score sheet. Which leads to the second obvious answer. Scoring is sexy and easily measurable. What do people want to talk about? The guy that is sitting at 70% in the face off circle? Or the one that scores at a point per game pace? I know where most people sit on this topic, so don't lie to yourself. The vast majority of you guys look at points and emphasis that more then other items in judging a players success or lack there of (see: VHL HOF).
With this in mind, the question can become, is it worth spending time to create a forward that isn't a black hole when playing defence? In short, probably yes, however to a point. Being able to strictly defend will not get you anywhere in a league where metrics and bonuses are measured by point production. Look at the bonus structure in the VHLM, it favours the guys that can score more. So a strategic build with emphasis on all areas is really what the goal should become so the player can not only set up and finish plays, but can also start and create them.
In the end, when a forward has spend many hours perfecting their craft, the hundred foot game comes naturally. After all everyone has ceilings and when that apparatus is reached, focus must be shifted to another area. So in the end, perhaps this entire defensive awareness topic becomes a moot point? Or perhaps it does not? I have seen enough builds and going back a few years did a few myself to know what happens. It seems that more often then not, defensive styles will wash out for a more sexy style. Very few agents have been able to represent a defensive forward in the VHL. Perhaps this is a trend that can be broken in the future? Maybe, maybe not. However it would sure be interesting to see someone try.
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