I played water polo, refereed water polo, minor officiated water polo, and coached water polo for year. Only the past two years have I not spent at least four days a week at the pool. This leads me to a series of smart comments from Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens.
All I know about hockey analytics comes from reading people who write about them and asking questions. These questions range from how important face-offs are (not very) to how bad Douglas Murray is (very). This leads me to Max Pacioretty. He is a consistently underrated forward for the Montreal Canadiens who has made a habit out of saying smart things this year. The first smart thing he said this year was that the Habs would struggle if they tried to play a tougher game because they are meant to be a fast team and not one that fights (http://www.montrealgazette.com/sports/Emphasis+toughness+might+hurt+Habs/8999114/story.html) .
He also said that he was playing a different role this year, one that forced him to focus more on defence ( http://canadiens.nhl.com/club/news.htm?id=690962). He is again right. If you are thinking he knows what he is talking about, you are thinking correctly.
Yesterday he said something that was really smart and not just self-aware but something that coaches should listen to (http://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hearsay-pacioretty-downplays-canadiens-defence/). The comments about offensive defence men not having to be as good defensively is important. You need the puck to score. If PK Subban or Dustin Byfulglien have the puck the other team cannot score.
He also talks about passive defence. Passive defence was the death of me when I was coaching water polo. Movement creates everything in water polo and passive defence allowed the other team to move freely and get shots on net. Shots are really important in water polo as you only have 30 seconds to get a shot in net but you get a new shot clock once you get a shot on net. Anyways, passive defence lets shots happen easier. Shots don't get interrupted. Also if you are blocking a shot you are not pressuring the ball (or the puck in hockey) and letting people have easy shots on your goalie.
Water polo is different in hockey because blocking in a valid technique because the nets are so large that the goalie needs help against a good passing team, especially when killing a penalty. But that is where pressure comes in. When the passer is pressured they are forced into more difficult passes and it allows for movement from the defender to continuously pressure the ball or the puck. He gets it. It's better to have the puck (or ball in my example) than to not. And it is better to aggressively pressure the opposition for the puck (or ball) than respect them. It seems so simple but yet human instinct is to protect yourself instead of being aggressive. You are not safer backing up towards your own net than you are challenger the player who has possession or taking away their options. You are making life harder on your goalie than easier. The game is more aggressive and pleasing to the eye. Fans love it even if they don't understand everything. Shot blocking and passive play is what's making hockey harder to watch not goalies making great saves. Max Pacioretty gets a lot of subtle things about hockey that fans don't realize are really simple but his thoughts on defence seem to be spot on and should be listened to.
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