Forwards that can also be defenseman

[ArizonaCoyotes19]

While watching this year's playoffs, I've seen a few times where defensemen leave the game early with injuries. Unless a team goes with 7 D and 11 FWD's, they are forced to play with five d-men.

I've seen lots of instances where some teams are short on forwards and they have a D who can slide into a 4th line role without being too much of a liability. However, you almost never see the reverse of a forward playing D. I feel like having a forward that can also be a reliable defenseman in a pinch would be a very valuable asset.

 

[sebsisles]

Marc Streit played both...miss that man

 

[Mr Positive]

Burns was originally a RW iirc

I assume he could go back, but I can't think of a current forward who could play D. I assume McDavid could do it. He likes to start plays from his goal line anyway.

On the Oilers I want to say way back we had Strudwick at forward but he subbed at defense. Federov played both but was mainly a forward.

 

[SirPaste]

Retired now but I always thought Alex Steen could have been a good dman. Federov/Byfuglien are the obvious answers, probably more but the first ones that come to mind.

 

[Vikingstad]

I swear I saw Marner play D, if not just on special teams. Based on his game (defensively responsible, good passer) I think it would work.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

Kurtis MacDermid can allegedly play as either a forward or defenseman,

 

[Sasha Orlov]

Fedorov

 

[Bgav]

Brandon Mcmillan - according to Willie D

 

[danny90]

I swear I saw Marner play D, if not just on special teams. Based on his game (defensively responsible, good passer) I think it would work.

Marner has played as a defenseman a few times, never more than a few shifts though IIRC

 

[vipera1960]

Kurtis MacDermid can allegedly play as neither a forward or defenseman,

FTFY

 

[GIN ANTONIC]

Marner has played as a defenseman a few times, never more than a few shifts though IIRC

I think with Marner the thing that would be tough for him to play D on a regular basis would be the physicality. He's a good enough skater and high IQ that he could probably avoid a lot of it but I dunno if he could be able to take that kind of sustained physical pressure at 20-25min a night.

On the Canes (other than Burns), Aho or J Staal could probably be defensemen, but with Aho it might be the same thing as Marner with the size and physicality.

 

[tarheelhockey]

On the Canes (other than Burns), Aho or J Staal could probably be defensemen, but with Aho it might be the same thing as Marner with the size and physicality.

Rod has actually tried to do this on a couple of occasions, but it triggers Derek Joslin flashbacks and he has to take a couple of days off to recover.

 

[HugeInTheShire]

FTFY

Thanks for fixing that glaring mistake!

 

[AslanRH]

Nobody did it as "entertainingly" as David Koci

 

[Elvs]

Erik Karlsson

 

[ponder719]

Scott Laughton’s volunteered to do so in the past, don’t recall if he actually took shifts there.

Back in the day, I remember Sami Kapanen playing D when the Flyers had an emergency, and acquitting himself quite well in the role.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Nobody did it as "entertainingly" as David Koci
View attachment 1039524

Seeing Koci reminds me that Bob Hartley used to do this a lot with the Avalanche (albeit not with Koci).

Jon Klemm, Aaron Miller, and Greg de Vries off the top of my head.

 

[M2Beezy]

Kuzmenko

 

[Aurinko]

Haula.

Scott Stevens said Haula would be a fantastic defender because of his skating skill (back in the Wild days, so ~10 years back).

As a certified Haula fan, I will approve this. He is not as fast as he was, but his acceleration is still top of the league even at 34 yo. Those legs have bad stamina, but fantastic power.

 

[Canovin]

Adrian Kempe - Oilers Series

 

[FlyguyOX]

Pretty sure Daniil Miromanov has done this. On VGK, atleast.

 

[majormajor]

I've been saying forever that Alex Wennberg should be a defenseman. He has great defensive reads and his escapability with the puck and passing from the rear would make many defensemen jealous. By contrast he has no killer instinct within thirty feet of the opposing goal, like it is a foreign country in the offensive zone.

This year Mathieu Olivier played defense for a few shifts here and there, though that is more of a "nice fallback" than anything people would recommend he do full time.