The Hungarian national team has taken up a bit of a North American taste by implementing the neutral zone trap. It has been clear to see it more often in the past two games, especially in the match against Japan. The reason for switching to the 1-3-1 was according to Coach Rich Chernomaz was to utilize the talents on the squad to the best of their abilities. Going along with this Cherno said that in this case the national team has a on the blue line either experienced veteran defensemen or young ones with potential; however they might be pressured into a turnover.
In the break down of the 1-3-1 the veteran defensemen would be the one that sits back on the blue line with the young defensemen helping out on either wing as a part of the 3. This saves the energy of the one on the blue line and helps to take advantage of the speed of the one on the wing who can jump in on an attack if there is a turnover. Also in the middle it forces the two forwards in the middle to be more aggressive then what they usually might be.
Assistant coach Gary Clark as well as Chernomaz both said that they were pleased with how well the players picked up this system that was new to most of them. Clark also added that he was surprised at the eagerness and the willingness to learn a new system which eased the process tremendously. It was very evident at the end of the friendly match against Japan that things started clicking like a well oiled machine. By the end the players were fight for the shutout which pleased the coaching staff a lot as the players were competing from start to finish.
From the player point of view the instillation process of this system and learning it in general has been a lot of fun, both on the blue line and for the forwards as well. The young defensemen Balázs Gőz said that for him this wasn’t completely new to him, he said seen a little of it when he played juniors in the U.S. He did say that he has enjoyed it tremendously since he has had more opportunities to join in on the attack. It was also clear to see once everyone understood what to do and where to be everything else went a lot smoother.
Up front it took some time for the system to become second nature to them. István Sofron said that it was hard at first to get out of your natural reaction to a loose puck or a turnover. Also adding a bit to the process was that Sofron had been playing in the national team with the same line mates as he had in his club in Fehérvár, Balázs Ladányi and Márton Vas. Sofron said that they knew where everyone was without really having to look, but that has changed with Vas moving to the blue line. He continued in saying the first couple of practice sessions he had to almost pause and think “ok so what I am supposed to do next” or “dang I was not supposed to make that pass” but now that everyone is on the same page they expect to score some goals. Sofron said with a smile “now I also get to hit more guys and be physical”.
It is easy to see and hear that the players have not only bought into the system that has been foreign to most of them but they are also enjoying them selves in the process.
Szabolcs Závodszky