page_title: Winger (ice hockey)
section_title: Defensive zone play
hierarchical_section_title: Winger (ice hockey) / Defensive zone play
context_page_description: Winger, in the game of ice hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink. Nowadays, there are different types of wingers in the game — out-and-out goal scorers, checkers who disrupt the opponents, and forwards who work along the boards and in the corners. They tend to be bigger than centreman and smaller than defenseman.
  This position is commonly referred to by the side of the rink that the winger normally takes, i.e. "left wing" or "right wing."
context_section_description: Wingers should be playing high in the zone, and should always be vigilant for a breakout pass or a chance to chip the puck past the blue line. When wingers receive a pass along the boards, they can exercise a number of options:
  Bank the puck off the boards or glass to get it out of the zone
  Redirect or softly pass the puck to a teammate advancing into the neutral zone who can then choose to set up an attack, or dump the puck into the offensive zone to allow either a line change or for teammates to further attack the defenders
  Carry the puck themselves into the offensive zone to attempt a breakaway or an odd-man rush, where the attacking team advances with more players close to the puck than there are defenders
  Wingers should typically not:
  play deep in their defensive zone
  help out their teammates along the boards
caption: Typical winger positioning in the defensive zone.
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