Tips for Wingers

Note: This was written for NHL 09 so some things are outdated, but all of the general tips are still very valid. Just take your position's tips into account and use the attribute guides (1st/2nd posts) when you choose your role and attributes.
Wingers

Recommended player style:

1) Sniper/Dangler (just ask yourself: are you Russ Tyler or Kenny Wu?)

2) Power Forward (good if you want some defense to go with your offense and enjoy scoring off deflections, like Tomas Holmstrom)

The number one thing that people seem to stumble over when playing this position is the fact that, even though it may say right wing under your name, it doesn’t mean you aren’t supposed to be crossing over to the left side of the ice.

You see, good wingers will go wherever the open lanes are, regardless of where those lanes appear on the ice. And that’s really all you’re trying to do as a winger: fill the outside lanes.

What you want to do is let the center work the interior of the ice, and stay spread out on the wings, so the center has somewhere to pass the puck when your team is trying to break into the offensive zone.

When you finally get into the enemy zone, you want to continue to stay on the wing, looking for one of the following opportunities:

• Taking a high-percentage shot from the top of the circle if you have teammates ready to follow the shot for a rebound
• Drifting to the middle of the ice and taking a high-percentage shot from between the circles if your teammates are lagging behind you
• Continuing to skate along the boards and float behind the net, looking to make a wrap-around shot or a centering pass if your teammates are lagging behind you and the defense is cutting off the middle of the ice

It’s clear after playing only a couple of EASHL games that the side boards are the most underused part of the ice in NHL 09.

Wingers in particular will want to become well-acquainted with the boards, using them as a way of delaying plays and causing chaos/breakdowns in the defense by luring defenders out of position, sneaking passes to the other side of the ice, and going in for the occasional wrap-around shot.

The boards are also a great place for wingers to position themselves when a scrum for the puck is going on and their teammate needs a quick outlet.