Defenceman's Poke Check tip

One common mistake amongst not very experienced defencesmen is the way they keep their stick while defending something like a 1 on 1 or 2 on 1.The poke check should almost always be used in these situations, especially in 2 on 1s as you can't exactly take out 2 guys at once.

But to make the poke check effective you have to make sure you keep your stick close to your body, near your hip, or just out infront of you, and then push it out when doing the poke. This GREATLY helps the poke check, since the opposition doesn't know your reach, and has no clue how close they can come to you with the puck.