As a forward regardless of being speedy winger or a power forward that parks himself in front of the goal. One of the pesky people that center or a winger faces day in and day out both at practice and on game day is the opposing defenceman.
In today’s hockey a defenseman has to be skilled in number of facets, they have to be able to neutralize the opposing attack, they should be able to join the offensive rush and chip in with points, and also they need to have communication skills and great vision as well.
Traditionally the image of a defenseman might be someone like a Zdeno Chara, a massive human on skates that has such a long reach that you can’t go around them or through them. They are rugged and hard nosed, a tough guy to get by, someone that you know you end up with in a corner will not end up well for you. In short just picture Tamás Sille. However like Sille an excellent defenseman is the fusion of skill, physical attributes, and hockey intelligence.
An expert in Hungary on what attributes a defenseman needs is Viktor Tokaji, who started playing top flight Hungarian hockey as a teenagers in Dunaújváros. After spending over a decade in his hometown team he played a season in Sweden before playing eighth season in the EBEL. Currently he is the captain of the MOL League club MAC Budapest where he is dispensing his knowledge to his team mates. Tokaji was nice enough to share some of his knowledge and his expertise that he picked up in 21 seasons with the national team, with icehockey.hu
Physical attributes
What we have originally pictured about size and playing defensive hockey might not infact be like that. “Size is not as important anymore, they need to be skilled and quick, be able to skate both backwards and forward, with mobility and be able to shoot the puck, they need to be a very complex player.” said Tokaji, he continued, “The last couple of years the defined roles of forwards and defencemen have been getting blurred, everyone needs to be able to score but also defend, the goalie position is one that has remained the same. The five players on the ice need to work as a unit and because of this the defined roles are not as strict as in the past.” Balász Gőz has represented Hungary at two world championships and with his 181cm he was the shortest of the seven defencemen on the Hungarian roster in Krakow. “I have no advantage when it comes to size but I consider myself a good skater and that's how I can play against bigger guys. I feel like skating is really important in today's game, for example in front of the net I probably won't clear them out but I can stop them from getting set up for a screen by taking away their balance and also taking away their sticks” said Gőz when asked how he can make up for his lack of size. Tokaji also highlights what Gőz mentioned “I think the ability to change direction and the mobility is not as important for a forward as it is for a defenceman, a D-man also needs to have good vision on the ice compared to a forward. They might have to think more complex and should be able to find the ideal solution more often.”
Mental attributes 
As mentioned before Tamás Sille was a smart player who played at a high level despite not being the most physically imposing player. Tokaji also mentioned the mental aspect that he believes all great defencemen must have. “I think that first of all, they need to be intelligent, they need to be able to react well and also be able to read what the attacking player will do, they need to be smart and also have hockey intelligence as well. They need to have leadership qualities if they are directing everything from the back.” One thing that Canadian coaches and Tokaji also mentioned that is lacking in Hungarian players is communication, “Communication is very important, when your teammate is talking to you it's like having another set of eyes out there. Not only the body language is important but the spoken word as well.”
The Past
What better way to understand what the veteran player was talking about was to ask for specific examples of players who exemplified the style that Tokaji was talking about. “One of my favorite players to watch was Tommy Jakobsen who was the team captain for Norway and played some years in Graz, he was on the shorter side, with his 173 cm he played in the A-Pool the DEL and played in other top leagues, he was physically not that big but he had great vision and made great passes, I always really liked his style.” Unfortunately because of his age and when the NHL started to appear on Hungarian TV screens Viktor was already an established member of the Hungarian national team. “By the time NHL games were available on TV in Hungary I already knew that the NHL and the European hockey or Hungarian hockey were almost two different sports, and you couldn’t really draw parallels. Back then the physical hockey dominated but I liked the style of Paul Coffey who was fantastic, from today’s players I like Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith and Drew Doughty, these guy’s styles I really like and they have an offensive side as well and we haven't even mentioned someone who was recently inducted into the Hall of fame, Nicklas Lidstrom. It is fantastic what he does, there is a statistic that every 52 pass that he made was a bad pass. He would be the best from my age group.”
Present
If we are talking about the past, the present also has to be mentioned as well, “Because of my size I was never a big sized player so I looked to the players that were smaller and had to use more their head than their size against the other team. I really like the style of Kevin Wehrs, he is a great skater, he can shoot he is agile, explosive and has great vision.” said Tokjai was his former Fehérvár teammate.
Future
With Tokaji at the tail end of his career the future looks bright with the next generation of blueliners, we asked him who he thought from the young up and comers plays the similar style that he does and could have a long and fruitful career. “There are a lot of talented young players, but Bence Stipsicz’s game I like a lot, they threw him into the deep end this season and he has lived with the opportunity. He has the hockey intelligence that is needed, he is a greenhorn but the world is in front of him.
Conclusion
Former Miskolc defenseman Matt Boyle probably sums it up the best, “ A defenseman that can take care of his own end first but also can contribute offensively is very valuable. They also need to have a physical element to their game to make the opponent respect them and their teammates.”