The 1 Man, 2 Man Forecheck from Phillip Barski focuses on teaching players forechecking pressure, defensive support, and executing clean breakouts in a continuous flow.
Setup
- Forwards are positioned on all four blue line corners.
- Defensemen start at center ice.
- Drill begins with 2 defensemen and 1 or 2 forwards in the middle with one puck (depends on how many forwards you want to start forechecking).
Execution
- On the whistle, F1 dumps a puck into the zone.
- That forward becomes the forechecker while the two D retrieve and work together to break out.
- Two support forwards jump in to receive the breakout pass.
- New defensemen step in to defend the rush.
- After the rush, the puck carrier skates to center ice and dumps the puck back in.
- Defending D regroup, support each other, and attempt another breakout against a new forechecker and support forwards.
- The drill is continuous.
Progression
- Starts as a 1-man forecheck.
- Progresses to a 2-man forecheck by allowing both forecheckers to stay active instead of calling one off.
Coaching Points
- Defenseman and forwards that are breaking out should work hard to support each other.
- Forecheckers should work on angling with sticks on the ice to block passing lanes.
Variations
- Can start the drill with 1 or 2 forecheckers.
- Can progress to 2 forecheckers.
Supplemental Materials
- The second video shown is from Phillip's presentation on A Defenceman's Blueprint To Breaking Pucks Out at the Brock University High Performance Hockey Seminar.
