Loafing, floating, or cherry picking in
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...
is a manoeuver in which a player, the floater (usually a
forward, but occasionally a defenceman who used to play the forward position, but can no longer skate the complete length of the ice at pace), literally loafs — spends time in idleness
— or casually skates behind the opposing team's unsuspecting
defencemen
Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...
while they are in their
attacking zone. It is very similar to the
cherry picking tactic sometimes used in
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...
. Its controversy is also very similar to that of cherry picking in basketball.
History
The tactic is used sparingly as although it sometimes creates a
breakaway opportunity for the defending team should they manage to take control of the
puck and pass it to the floater, it also creates a
five-on-four situation (during
even strength play) for the attacking team. Also, a good defenceman usually keeps an eye open for the development of these potential situations where he would immediately
backcheck
The backcheck is an ice hockey defensive transition play made (primarily) in the neutral zone. It is a type of checking. The purpose of the backcheck is to try to limit the opponents options as they head up the ice towards the backchecking team's ...
once a floater is spotted.
See also
*
Cherry picking (basketball)
Cherry picking, in basketball and certain other sports, refers to play where one player (the cherry picker) does not play defense with the rest of the team, but rather remains near half court or closer to their own team's goal.
If the opponents d ...
Notes
Ice hockey terminology
Ice hockey strategy
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