HOCKEY TIP: USING 16 SKATERS

 

By Glenn Guzzo

 

            There’s on-going interest among hockey gamers in ways to manage their use of skating lines and defensive pairings. Among the leading questions: How much ice time should the fourth line and third defense pair get?

 

            With today’s 18-skater lineups, that’s really a matter of preference. The lineup fits neatly into four lines (12 forwards) and three pairs (six defensemen). However, bench coaches from yesteryear had to be cleverer, because they could dress fewer players for each game.

 

            You will be coaching fewer skaters if:

 

n      You play a season prior to 1982-83, when the NHL increased its game rosters to the current 18 skaters plus two goalies.

 

n      You are a board gamer who plays without the extra players. Strat-O-Matic’s regular teams generally have 18 players – 16 skaters and 2 goalies.

 

 

In 1946-47, the one historic Strat-O-Matic season prior to 1954-55, the NHL allowed 15 skaters plus goalies.

 

For most of the time from 1954-55 through the 1970-71 season, NHL teams were limited to 16 skaters (plus goalies) per game. (From 1954-55 through 1959-60, the rule allowed 18 skaters through Dec. 1, then 16 skaters thereafter. The limit was 16 skaters all season beginning 1960-61).

 

The lineup limits were increased to 17 skaters from 1971-72 through 1981-82, then to 18 skaters the following season.

 

Using 16 Skaters

 

Here are some tips for using 16 skaters, with concepts easily adaptable to the 15- and 17-player eras.

 

As always, the team’s base is three lines (9 forwards) and two pairs (4 defensemen). In the 16-player era, coaches typically included one extra defenseman and two extra forwards, which is what Strat-O-Matic provides in its regular team sets. However, for insurance, NHL coaches often liked a sixth defenseman, or at least a forward who could double as a defenseman.

 

The extra skaters were used three ways:

n      As specialists on power plays and penalty-killing units.

 

n      As fill-ins on lines that were disrupted by injuries, penalties or power-play duties.

 

n      As part of a regular rotation, especially in games where the regulars might need more rest (e.g. in games on consecutive days).

 

In the third period of close games, coaches often “shorten their bench” by sticking with three lines and two defensive pairs. But until then, here’s how to fit in the extra defensemen and forwards.

 

Defensemen

 

            The fifth defenseman might be a power-play specialist. In 1965-66, Toronto’s Kent Douglas scored five of his six goals on the power play. Though in his fourth season, he was much the junior member of a blueline crew that included four Hall of Famers: Allan Stanley, Tim Horton, Marcel Pronovost and Bob Baun.

 

            Of course, the fifth man also would fill in on one of the pairings when any of the top four defensemen was off the ice for a penalty, or when one was unavailable after working a shift on the power play. Injuries also occasionally took players out for a few shifts or the rest of the game, requiring more duty from the fifth man.

 

            More often, though, coaches liked to use a three-pairing system with just five men. The rotation looked like this: A-B-A-C, then repeat the sequence. In this scheme, the team’s top defensive pair is unit A. Units B and C feature one common blueliner, while rotating the fourth and fifth defensemen.

 

            This rotation was especially popular with coaches who had much more confidence in their top three defensemen than the fourth. Let’s look at the 1965-66 New York Rangers for such an example.

 

            After fighting to avoid the cellar through most of the 1960s, by 1965-66 the Rangers were finally starting to develop young talent , especially forwards Jean Ratelle, Rod Gilbert and Vic Hadfield, though the Rangers were not yet ready to contend for championships.

 

            At this point, the Rangers had only two trustworthy veteran defensemen, Jim Neilson and Harry Howell, who formed the first pair, or the “A pair” in our rotation. Playing every other shift, Neilson and Howell would expect to play half the game. New York backed them up with veteran journeyman Wayne Hillman and a pair of promising players in their second full season, Arnie Brown and Rod Seiling.

 

            Although Seiling has the best offensive card of the three, he played the fewest games and also spent time as a winger, so he is the fifth man in Strat-O-Matic’s lineup. He will alternate with Brown. So the New York rotation looks like this:

 

A: Neilson-Howell

B: Hillman-Brown

A: Neilson-Howell

C: Hillman-Seiling

 

Forwards

 

            Similarly, the extra forwards (typically two) were used on special teams and as fill-ins. However, they might also be used as two-thirds of a fourth line with a player who was double-shifted.

 

            To find your double-shift candidate, look for players whose scoring totals are in disproportion to their linemates. The 1956-57 Rangers’ Andy Bathgate, for instance, had 50 assists playing with linemates who scored 30 goals on a team where defensemen seldom scored. In rare cases (e.g. Wayne Gretzky and Gordie Howe), forwards might double shift by playing on two consecutive lines, the 4th and 1st. More often, the player would have a shift of rest between turns on the ice.

 

The Montreal Canadiens were champions in 1965-66 in part because of how well coach Toe Blake used his bench.

 

His extra players were useful but unspectacular:

 

n      Yvan Cournoyer, right winger and power-play specialist. In his second full season, the fleet 22-year-old “Roadrunner” was still being eased into the Montreal lineup. He scored 16 of his 18 goals on the power play.

 

n      Jim Roberts, primarily a right winger, is rated also at center and both defense positions, giving Montreal six men who could play the blueline if needed. He had little offensive skill, but was a 4 defensively, a +1 faceoff rating and is the only Montreal forward with a breakaway chance on penalty kills.

 

n      Former blueline regular Jean-Guy Talbot, now the fifth man who played four positions. A 3(4) defensively, he was helpful in penalty-kill situations, would alternate with fellow aging veteran defenseman Ted Harris on the “C” unit, and could spell A-unit defenseman J.C. Tremblay if Tremblay had just finished power-play work.

 

If needed, these three could form a fourth line, although, at even strength, none were a threat to score. But in these three, Blake had specialists plus two extra defensemen. Whenever the well-balanced Canadiens lines and defensive pairs needed help, Blake’s bench had it to offer.