Centre (ice hockey)

From ArticleWorld

Playing centre (center) on an ice hockey team means assuming responsibility for much of the action in the middle of the ice, helping lead scoring attacks and also moving in close to the opponent’s goal to block the other team’s players if they get the puck. Centers also take faceoffs (when play is stopped for a number of reasons, centers from each team stand face to face and the referee drops the puck between them, each trying to pass it to a teammate). On defense, the center is often in front of or directly behind his/her goal and if they get the puck, they often will pass it to one of the wings.

Faceoffs

One of the most important duties of the center is to handle the faceoffs for his/her team. The center looks down at the ice at where the puck will land. When the puck is dropped by the referee, their mission is to pass it off to one of his/her defensemen, and then block the opposing center to keep them out of the play. Handling faceoffs is a unique skill. Good centers are well known for the ability to win faceoffs.

Great NHL centers

There are 68 centers enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame. But, only one of them is know as “The Great One” … and not just a great center. Wayne Gretzky is rated by most as the best player ever to put on skates. In fact, his number 99 was retired by every team in the National Hockey League. Other great centers include:

1. Sid Able, one third of the Detroit Red Wing’s famous “Production Line”, which included Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.
2. Jean Beliveau, who led the Montreal Canadians to 10 Stanley cup championships;
3. Bobby Clarke, the tough center for the notorious Philadelphia Flyers teams of the 1970s;
4. Alex Delvecchio, another high scoring center for the Red Wings in their heyday of the mid 1950s;
5. Marcel Dionne, one of the offensive-minded centers in the game, he played for Detroit and Los Angeles;
6. Phil Esposito, who scored 40 or more goals in seven straight seasons with the Boston Bruins;
7. Mario Lemieux, who scored with his first shot in his first game with the Pittsburgh Penguins;
8. Stan Mikta played in four decades and never lost his scoring skill;
9. Bryan Trottier, as good on defense as he was while trying to score, he led the successful New York Islander teams of the late 1970s;
10. and Norm Ullman, yet another Detroit center in the record books.