How could puck possession evolve in hockey in the future?

A lot of times in hockey, it's easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, and how that can apply to team tactical components. There's a lot of different elements involved when it comes to strong side play, and being able to execute attack sequences based on the efficiency of the strong side in and of itself. But, what about the weak side? What about the weak side forwards? But most especially, the weak side defenseman is perhaps the most fascinating of all to evaluate. There's not a lot out there when it comes to being able to utilize weak side spacing as a defenseman, but we see a lot more incorporation of the weak side defenseman with modern day offensive-oriented teams.

Think back to the Russian 5 in the 1990s with the Detroit Red Wings as an example, where the unit had Slava Kozlov at LW, Igor Larionov at C, Sergei Fedorov at RW, Slava Fetisov at LD, and Vladimir Konstantinov at RD. First off all, the spacing components that incorporated possession fluency into the Russian attack would be similar to the North American game, but all the system did was counteract what the North American style was. At this time in the sport, the Russians continued dominance in hockey came from their year round training, players didn't spend much time doing much other than obsessing about hockey, and this stemmed through on and off ice training.

Another example of a unit showcasing its possession dominance was the Russian Green Unit. This also included C Igor Larionov, with RW Sergei Makarov and LW Vladimir Krutov, Slava Fetisov at LD, and Alexei Kasatonov at RD. You didn't see these units take slapshots very often (Think for example in the 80s and 90s where slapshots off the rush and in straight-line routes on zone entries were evident) and you also did not see the Soviets stapled to one position consistently. It's free flowing for a reason, and they were able to avoid their checks because of the spacing elements and ability to draw defenders to them for manipulative purpose.

We saw a lot of Russian dominance in the later parts of the 20th century not only due to their training, but because they separated themselves by playing distinct possession style hockey at that time. You wouldn't hear much about the Russians around this time, and the NHL would typically stay glued to north-south, chip and chase, rim around and finish your check style hockey that would be copied throughout the league.

But, the Russian 5 established a small-area, east-west, close support puck movement style system that incorporated all 5 guys as a unit, rather than a forward trio and separate defensive pairing. In North America, defensemen would stay back and would be less inclined to be rush defenders, whereas the Russian defensemen oftentimes would find themselves with 1-2 breakaways a game because of spacing and tactical elements, often that being Konstantinov with Detroit on that Russian 5 unit.

Now, we see a slightly further evolvement of that in the 2010s and on within the game. What we see is hybrid style structures, where based on rotation sequences, the defenseman can actually take charge deep in the zone and be engaged on a forecheck or board battle sequence if possible. Ok, then what? Then a forward would temporarily drift high into point position, willing to move downhill if the timing and opportunity presented itself.

We also see more engagement from the weak side defenseman nowadays, who can open up a royal road passing opportunity sequence, they can work the flanks, they can attack into space where coverage won't collapse to, and they can even attack the net if the opportunity is there. Ideally inside the offensive zone, teams want to collapse and generate a 5-man attack below the top of the circles, to get opposing coverage to collapse and fall off. This is especially evident when it comes to power play sequences as well.

There are multiple elements in which I believe possession will continue to change in the future:

1. Diagonal spacing elements (Attacking diagonally on zone entry, diagonal playmaking through seams) inside offensive zone sequences
2. Progressive overloading to lure forecheckers in, cause fatigue, and limit excess use of energy building up to zone entry on attacking side
3. Weak side defenseman involvement inside the offensive zone (Colorado and Cale Makar is a great example)
4. Is there a way to get both defensemen involved up ice? Instead of a 4 man attack, what if it could be 5?

These are only ideas that came to my head, as trying to figure out how these work would be trickier. For the diagonal spacing elements, a lot of this is evident in small-area soccer team possession sequences already. Move right away after you pass (Don't admire the pass, just move it), look to gain the inside or body position advantage moving up the field, and looking to get inside the 18 yard box with more of a diagonal element to make the goalkeeper move. That's what could be made similar here, with east-west diagonal entry elements forcing goaltenders to move in today's NHL. Attacking on a diagonal, a slant route, on entry, could have far more leverage than simply attacking in a straight-line route on a zone entry sequence for an attacking team. By attacking and moving diagonally, D1 and D2 can be forced to collapse and get their feet moving, but backchecking defenders also would be forced to use lateral movement instead of tracking back in a straight-line.

The 2nd idea is interesting, because this one I've seen mentioned multiple times, so it's not initially my idea, but rather something to build on instead. By progressive overloading, and the Russian 5 unit did an excellent job doing this at a time in the 90s where reloading and possession wasn't as much of an emphasis. By building up the sequence offensively through close support, timed routes, precise passes, and natural movement in structure, excess energy isn't wasted trying to chip and chase and generate an offensive sequence out of that. Instead, the defenders get worn down, especially if attackers cycle back to their own zone looking to reload, and then they might be forced to chase. It uses up excess energy on the defensive side, and then the attacking team building up their sequence to the zone entry, and then to the in-zone sequence, would help for efficiency there. Progressive overloading is another term utilized in soccer quite frequently, and could definitely continue to be layered upon for hockey teams as well.

The weak side defenseman case study is perhaps the most interesting, because there's not much information nor evaluation when it comes to the spacing elements of the weak side defender. Where is the player supposed to be? In a sense, that player might as well be engaged in the attack, otherwise attacking teams would be playing 4v5 instead of 5v5. It's still a position, it's still important, but I'm still not sure how to evaluate the weak side defenseman yet, because I would wonder how to approach this as well. My first instinct and thought is regarding the spacing elements of this, because to engage the weak side D (Namely in offensive in-zone situations and rush patterning) is tricky, but think of a 5-man rush involvement where a team goes all out. You have layering with strong side players on a line rush sequence there, but now by engaging that strong side D, and then engaging that weak side D, it could almost be setup as a power play drop. That could be for the rush patterning.

As for the offensive zone, that player could be involved on the flanks, moving downhill to create passing lanes, move up and down the boards (So they don't get too close to coverage where it creates man-on-man), and that can also open up sequences deep in the zone for the weak side defender as well. It would be easier to involve the weak side D in offensive zone sequences more than rush patterns right now, but it would be interesting to see how the weak side player could be involved as a rush option. If the Russian 5's two defensemen, Fetisov and Konstantinov, were able to engage as D1 and D2 on the rush back in the 90s, then there must be a way both defenders could be involved nowadays.

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