Utility Player - Ice Hockey

Ice Hockey

In ice hockey, it is common for centres and wingers to play either position in certain situations. Depending on need, a team may use a natural centreman on the wing if they have too many centres or, conversely, a winger may be pressed to play centre because of a lack of suitable players in that area. Because of the frequency of forwards playing both positions, the term utility player tends to refer not to a player that plays more than one forward position, but to a player that can play both defense and forward. Teams may use a defenseman as a forward, or vice versa, for a variety of reasons.

Sometimes a natural defenseman who struggles on the defensive side of the game but possesses strong offensive qualities may be used as a winger. Marc-Andre Bergeron and Kurtis Foster, for example, have proven to be a quality offensive defensemen who struggle in defending their own zone. As such, they have dressed as forwards so their teams can continue to use their offensive abilities on the powerplay while still using the standard six defensemen during even strength.

An extra defenseman may also be pressed to play forward in an emergency situation, where a team has a rash of injuries to their forwards and do not have time to summon a replacement player from a farm team.

It is very common for teams to use a forward on "the point" (defense) during the powerplay to provide a greater offensive threat. Though the forward is playing defense in this situation, they aren't necessarily seen as true utility players.

Along with Bergeron and Foster, other notable defensemen that have played forward at some point in their careers include Phil Housley, Mark Streit, Christoph Schubert, Ian White and Chris Campoli. Notable forwards who have played defense include Sergei Fedorov, Mathieu Dandenault and Sami Kapanen.

In some cases a player has made a full-time conversion from one position to the other and experienced success. Hockey Hall of Famer Red Kelly spent the first half of his career as an offensive defenseman for the Detroit Red Wings before finishing his career as a strong two-way centreman for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Wendel Clark was a star defenseman in junior before converting to left wing and scoring over 300 goals and 500 points in 15 NHL seasons. (Some junior hockey teams have a tendency to put their best offensive players on defence instead of as forwards, since defencemen generally have more time on the ice.) Dustin Byfuglien is an example of a current player who has made the switch from forward to defense full-time. Jonathan Ericsson of the Detroit Red Wings is another example of a player who converted from forward to defense.

It is extremely rare for goaltenders to play any position other than goaltender; likewise, it is just as rare for non-goaltenders to suit up in goal, because of the significant difference in skills and equipment required for the position.