Hockey Positions Explained

Want to start playing or watching hockey, or curious as to how to play? Hockey is certainly a complex sport with only 6 players (including the goalie) on the ice per team, multiple shift changes, penalties, faceoffs, etc., but that shouldn’t stop you from understanding the game! There are 12 players on the ice at any given time, all with different positions and roles. In this article, we’ll describe the main hockey positions played in traditional ice hockey matches, including the responsibilities of each position and what they do.

Goalie

Of course, in most sports with a guardable net, the goalie is the last line of defense preventing the opposing team from scoring, usually with a different rule set when compared to other players. Just like a goalkeeper in soccer can pick up the ball with their hands, a hockey goalie has free reign to catch the puck in their glove. Goalies cover the entire hockey net for their team generally staying inside the goaltending crease, blocking incoming shots with their stick, gloves, or pads anywhere on the body (including helmet, facemask and groin). Goalies can throw a caught puck out to a teammate without stopping the play, or hold on to the puck until the referee blows the whistle for a face-off, to which the play is reset and the puck is dropped at the nearest faceoff spot. Goalies have different checking rules as well, and generally, you can check a goalie outside the crease with the puck, otherwise, it’s generally called a penalty.

Defensemen, Right and Left

Apart from the goaltender, a team’s left and right defensemen each take responsibility for positioning themselves closest to their own net on both the attack and defense. Usually, defenders (in the NHL especially) prefer to use longer sticks for better range and poking than their attacking counterparts. While there’s no rule specifically preventing a defender from going on the attack, their role is generally to dump the puck into the opposing end, take long-distance slap shots, and prevent any possible counter attacks from happening. Overall, the team’s two defensemen should share the main task of protecting their goal and their goalkeeper by keeping the play outside of their own defending zone.

Wingers, Right and Left

Wingers have a critical role in putting pressure on the opposing team on the opposite side of the ice. Just like defensemen, there are two wingers, right and left, that provide support to the defensemen and center through wide positioning and high mobility. Wingers make sure to position themselves properly on offense by placing themselves in the corner when the puck is on their side, or in front of the net, to screen the opposing team’s goalie when the puck is on the other side. Players in this position should always be adapting to critical possession changes in the game, and most of the time they are the last players to back out of the offensive zones. Of course, the primary goal of wingers would be to net their team as many goals as possible or provide assists to other players.

Center

Unlike the wingers and defensemen, there’s only one player who plays the center position in modern hockey. First, centers are generally offensive players that sit in between the wingers, passing to create scoring opportunities as well as running crucial offensive plays. They are solely responsible for taking face-offs, where both centers from each team are positioned at a face-off spot after a play stoppage. The center has five seconds to get into position, to which the official will drop the puck back in play and the centers tussle to pass the puck to their teammates quickly. Faceoffs are crucial for getting possession of the puck back to your team and typically occur many times throughout one game, so having a quality center player will only help you retain the puck, as well as create offensive chances by shooting the puck, deflecting incoming shots into the net or dumping the puck to a teammate.