Elite Hockey Defense: Skills and Strategies for the Modern Game

Develop defensive hockey players at all levels.

Defensive skills often receive less attention and recognition than their offensive counterparts. In Elite Hockey Defense: Skills and Strategies for the Modern Game, author Dave Cameron lays out the essential tools coaches need to create game-changing defensive players.

Skills such as transitions, backward acceleration, and passing and receiving passes are fundamental to the position of defense but are often overlooked in exchange for simple shooting practice. By incorporating skating development and puck control along with instruction on positional play, strategy, communication, and specific zone play, coaches can foster more adaptable defensive players. Cameron also goes in-depth on the split-second decision-making that players encounter in game situations and offers guidance on developing players in a way that prepares them to assess scenarios as they arise.

Elite Hockey Defense: Skills and Strategies for the Modern Game contains a drill finder that will help readers quickly locate the most appropriate drills for their players, and Coaching Tips note key points that coaches should focus on during each drill. These tips highlight why the drills are beneficial, what skills are being developed, and note technique tips and common player mistakes to look out for.

Build an unstoppable defensive force on the ice. With expert advice that has been used at all levels, Elite Hockey Defense: Skills and Strategies for the Modern Game is the perfect tool for coaches looking to elevate the performance of their defensive players.

Dave Cameron is the head coach and program director of Jets Hockey Development, a skating and skills coach for the Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose, a development coach for Team Canada U17, and a Hockey Canada skills consultant. He has more than 20 years of experience coaching players of all levels: professional athletes (NHL, AHL, and ECHL), college athletes, and young athletes just learning to play the game. He has helped many players achieve their goals, including being selected in the WHL Bantam Draft, making the jump to the NCAA, being selected in the NHL Entry Draft, and winning the Stanley Cup. Cameron specializes in individual skill development such as power skating, shooting, stickhandling, passing, and position-specific skills. He believes that confidence is built from practice and players can continue to get better through detailed work in specific areas.

Cameron played minor hockey in the Winnipeg area before moving on to the WHL, where he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1998 (third round, 80th overall). He returned to Winnipeg to attend the University of Manitoba, where he obtained a degree in kinesiology before starting his coaching career.