He would find the mistakes and holes in his game, the things that he needed to improve and use it to his advantage when he went back out on the ice. It would make him one of the best defenseman of his time. Howe could outrace any puck, make bad defenseman look good and had the skills to be the team's fourth forward on the ice. He was a great player, had lots of speed and he made plays. Defense is a whole new world, a whole different concept of hockey altogether.
Defense is never flashy, defense is never selfish, and defense is always, always team first.
He calls this transition his greatest achievement. I played forward my whole life. Howe, who retired in 1995 after three seasons in Detroit, says. I spent maybe half a year on defense until I was 24, then I got switched. I had to learn to play defense all on my own.