With a smooth glide, Helen Huang jumped onto the ice at Shea Memorial Rink in Quincy, a red bandana flowing out the back of the helmet of the freshman defenseman from Canton High.

The Bulldogs were taking on the Braintree High girls’ hockey team in a scrimmage, one day before squads opened play in the MIAA state tournament.

Her impact was immediate. Huang swiftly skated down the right side, corralled a loose puck at the blue line, and fired a low screamer on net. Positioned in front, teammate Sarah Wilkerson collected the pass and poked the puck in for a goal.

Huang has a nose for the net. So too does Annie Lee, a junior now playing defense for Braintree. What they both give their respective squads is position versatility.

This season, their skills were needed on defense. And thanks to their stellar play, and versatility, both Braintree (Division 1) and Canton (Division 2) qualifield for the state tourney.

Sizing up Lee’s play, Braintree coach Kevin Burchill said “her skills of being a forward have helped her out incredibly in being a defenseman. She sacrificed some of the accolades of scoring goals, but I don’t think she has quite realized her value to the team.’’

Tom Resor, who guided the 29-1-1 Noble & Greenough girls to the Independent School League title, said he devotes more than half of his practice sessions to non position-oriented drills.

“More teams are doing that in practice to enhance skill development,’’ he said. “The girls’ game is obviously going to that level now that there’s so many more girls playing it from early on.’’

Jean-Yves Roy, head coach at Notre Dame Academy in Hingham, has several players with position versatility, key cogs in a 14-4-2 squad that earned the ninth seed in the Division 2 tournament.

“Depending on who we play and the types of teams we’re gonna face, we can move some players around based on their skill sets,’’ he said. “We’re very fortunate to have a few players who can do that.’’

Freshman Aurora Devereaux moved up from defense to forward earlier in the season.

“She came into a situation where we were pretty stacked on D and I knew she could play both positions,’’ said the coach. “[I told her] if you want playing time, you’re going to need to spend time at forward.’’ She has delivered three goals and seven assists.

Sophomores Madeleine Mahoney and Meredith Stewart have experience at forward, but are deployed on the blue line by Roy.

“Being able to adapt to different positions has made me a better player,’’ said Stewart.

“Depending on who we’re playing — [Roy] can use us where he needs to be.’’

Down the street at Hingham High, sophomore Julianna Lynch made a more drastic shift. She played both goalie and forward for Boston Advantage and the South Shore Conquistadors, but played up front her freshman year with the Harbormen. She moved back into the net as a sophomore, but with the emergence of freshman Leah White in goal, Lynch is back at forward, and has excelled, racking 21 points.

“She gave us some firepower up front,’’ said coach Tom Findley , whose squad finished the regular season with a 13-8-1 mark. “It’s so important to have a player like that. She can make something happen on her own.’’

Lynch made the switch in part because she sees forward as her likely position if she plays collegiately. But her work in goal has helped the development of her game as a forward because she understands the mindset of a netminder.

“Leah’s been doing a really great job and I think the team as a whole came together this year,’’ Lynch said.

At Braintree, Lee was a first-line wing her sophomore year, but injuries this season left Burchill with few options.

“When I was younger I switched back and forth,’’ said Lee, who notched four goals and nine assists in a 6-12-2 season that ended with a preliminary-round loss to Duxbury..

“It’s an adjustment, but it’s for the team,’’ she said. “You have to to do what’s best for the team and not yourself.’’

Burchill calls Lee, who on occasion played up to 40 minuts per game, the team’s unsung hero.

“She does her job, she knows what the system is and she goes at it 100 percent,’’ he said. “With kids like that it makes the job easier.’’

Burchill’s daughter, Deirdre, a senior forward, said that Lee “can adjust well and she still scores goals even when she’s rushing up the puck, so it all works.’’

Huang also excels at rushing the puck.

After the scrimmage against Braintree, the teams lined up for a mock shootout.

Huang converted both of her chances, dazzling teammates with a nifty array of shutters and dekes before tickling the twine.

Although Canton was eliminated in the first round of the tourney by Winchester, head coach Dennis Aldrich believes his squad is set up for future success. Sophomore Colleen Kelleher registered a 95-percent save percentage in net. And eventualy, with the development of more defenseman, he expects Huang to anchor a forward line.

“You can definitely tell that she was a forward at one point,’’ said senior captain Mary Nee. “She has the versatility to skate the puck and the good stick handling.

“I think it says a lot about her as a player to sacrifice that. Scoring goals is fun. That’s the best part of the game. But the way that she gave it up is very important to the team.’’

Matt MacCormack can be reached at matt.maccormack@globe.com.