Coaches Wrap: Positioning of Wingers

I currently play in a over-40 hockey league (this is my 4th year of ever playing hockey, so I am still learning). I play left or right wing. My question: When play is in our zone, where is the ideal position of the wingers?

--Omer, Hockey Player

Anytime that a team is defending (meaning the other team has the puck) anywhere on the ice, they should try to break it down to a 1-on-1 game. In other words every defending player should identify the opposing player that they are responsible for and be in the proper position accordingly. In the defensive zone, typically the wingers cover the two opposing defensemen at the blue line. That means that below the tops of the circles, it is essentially a 3-on-3 game with the defending team's two defensemen and center working against the offensive team's three forward players. The left winger should cover the the right point and the right winger the left point, usually in the area from the top of the circles to the blue line, from the boards to the middle of the ice. Most of the time the puck is deep in the zone, so it is important for the wingers covering the points to position themselves so that, just by turning their heads, they can see the puck and also the point man they are covering. It is not good to get mesmerized watching the puck, losing track of the player to be covered, or vice versa. Proper positioning is always "between the offensive player and the puck, and the offensive player and the net". When the defending team gets clear possession of the puck, the wingers should quickly get to the hash marks on the boards to be in good support position for a pass from their defense, then they can carry it out of the zone or pass it to their center supporting them.