‘A Hunter Mentality’: Kiefer Sherwood Chronicles his Love of Forechecking

He has a dog park for his big pup nearby, hikes within 30 minutes of his home, the perfect balance of peace and downtown fun, and a competitive hockey team in a Canadian market.

Kiefer Sherwood is feeling great about being a Vancouver Canuck, and the team is enjoying having him on their roster after he displayed his strengths in the first round of the playoffs last year as a Nashville Predator.

Sherwood led that opening-round series in hits with 33 through six games. Many of those hits came from Sherwood’s aggressive forecheck and commitment to finishing every check that presents itself to the 29-year-old winger.

Last year’s series between the Canucks and Predators gave Sherwood a crash course in what the Canucks’ fan base can do when they are fully behind their local club.

The excitement in the arena was something he could feel on the ice, and he is excited to get the crowd going at Rogers Arena as a member of the home team.

“It was a pretty cool atmosphere in the playoffs last year, and you can tell our fans are extremely passionate and energetic,” said Sherwood. “I personally feed off the ‘Oohs’ and ‘Ahhs.’ It makes me want to make them proud and give them something to cheer for.”

Canucks’ head coach Rick Tocchet has spoken highly of Sherwood’s addition to the lineup and sees the value in a player who can forecheck at the level that Sherwood can.

"We acquired him because he's a really good forechecker and he's fitting in really well being that first forechecking guy," said Tocchet. "He'll take the body and that's a good thing for us."

Sherwood is a player who thrives on his speed on the ice and his ability to challenge the opposition by raising the pace of play. Forechecking is one of his favourite things to do in hockey and though a good, strong forecheck does not get you in many highlight reels, it’s an important part of the Canucks’ system.

“I try to have a hunter mentality and simply just want the hunt for the puck,” Sherwood said of his forechecking approach. “It’s a lot about reading the opposition’s positioning and seeing where we can try to outnumber guys.”

“The goal that Teddy scored the other night was a perfect example; we just outnumbered them in the corner and supported the puck well. From there, it ends up in the back of the net. Ultimately, forechecking is about getting the puck back or eliminating guys in position. If you can do those two things over the course of the game, forechecking can be very effective,” said Sherwood.

Not every forecheck will result in a turnover that ends up finding the back of the net. A lot of the time, a strong forecheck sets the tempo for the game and lets the opposition know that you are going to play fast and physical – and those are two things that Rick Tocchet demands from his group.

"The physical part is nice for me,” said Sherwood, who finished 15th in the NHL last year with 234 hits. “I like to get a lot of hits and wear their defence down, but the puck is the priority, so that's kind of been my more my reflection over the past few games. I'm trying to get to the puck first and disrupt the body with hits to start wearing teams down when they are starting a possession.”

Sherwood enjoys being the player who begins the forecheck and sets the play up for his linemates. The first player in on a forecheck is typically known as the F1, and Sherwood likes to let his teammates know that being the first in on a forecheck is where he thrives.

As much as chemistry is talked about in the offensive zone with a line, Sherwood also says that chemistry is important for a forecheck or coverage in the neutral zone.

There is a lot that goes into the mental side of the game and for the Canucks, a structured forecheck is something that Sherwood noted about conversations that he has had with Rick Tocchet and the rest of the Canucks’ coaching staff.

“A lot of forechecking is the positioning,” said Sherwood. “I try to be F1 so that way my linemates can read off me and it makes their reads easier. At the end of the day, that's something that we probably need more of; being more predictable to our system so that other guys can read and react from it and then there’s less hesitation from us and less time for decision-making from them.”

In the early stages of the season, Sherwood is currently leading the Canucks and is third in the league with 23 hits through four games. He fits in well with the coaching staff and the players, specifically the defencemen, and even more specifically Quinn Hughes, are happy that he is now on their side instead of hunting on them during an attempt for a puck retrieval and breakout.

As Sherwood continues to blend in with the Canucks, he is looking to keep feeding into his strengths on the ice and soak in all the information that he can from the coaching staff.

“I try to take pride in the little things, and I just try to focus on playing my game and then just being simple. No matter who Tocc puts me with or up against, my focus is just to be an effective line. Being predictable and building trust with the coaches is something that I'm focused on,” said Sherwood.

“From there, my next focus is just executing, whether it is our systems or just the details in the battles, execution is something I pride myself in doing. All those little things like details, playing predictable, and executing add up over the course of a season.”

As the season goes on, Sherwood will continue to make it difficult for opposing defencemen and this season, he has been given a taste of penalty kill because Tocchet believes he has translatable skills to do a job that he has not consistently done in past seasons.

So far, so good; as he has been on the ice for 5:22 of shorthanded time and has not seen a power play goal against.

Sherwood is comfortable in his new city, and excited about where this group of players can go this season. He is another piece of the lineup puzzle for Tocchet and having flexibility with his pieces makes the puzzle even more effective if completed correctly.

Tocchet likes what he is seeing from Sherwood in the initial stages and wants to see how effective he can become once he is fully entrenched in the Canucks’ system and structure.

For now, Sherwood will continue to be a crackerjack on the forecheck and carry on with his new-found role as a penalty killer.