Everything we’ve known about defencemen for a long time in the National Hockey League is that you have to be big and strong. You have to be physically punishing on forwards in the corners and in the slot. You have to block shots; you must have the size and reach to break up plays and you have to focus on defending. But the demands and essentials needed by NHL defencemen today are changing.
I’m not saying that this mindset and these attributes are useless now; these can still be bonuses or luxuries for teams to have. However, most of these shouldn’t be considered requirements and necessities anymore.