We often hear about young hockey players performing very well in team tryout camps and combinations in the summer months. In my opinion, players and parents spend too much time and money trying to attend these things. Most of the time, people do these things in an attempt to get noticed or discovered. However, the most important thing a young player can do to gain recognition is to perform well in his regular winter ice hockey club. Scouts and coaches will not use DST performance to make decisions about player performance in the regular season. Remember, the best players in the world don’t play hockey in the summer months. They train to improve their ability to play hockey.
Also, I feel the combined results are of very low value. First, it is generally accepted that tests performed on combines are not accurate indicators of athletic ability or hockey-playing potential. Anyway, what exactly do grip strength, abs, and bench press for reps have to do with hockey performance? Patrick Kane went to the NHL Draft Combine and performed one rep on the bench press test. However, he was still the first overall pick due to his hockey prowess.
What matters in the combine is how a player behaves and interacts with those around him. We have a lot of NTDP players who attend the NHL combine each spring and they all have the same things to say when they return to Ann Arbor. Nobody really cares how we perform on tests. They just wanted us to make an effort.
Here is a very good quote from an article published in The Journal of Strength and Conditioning
Research in September 2008. “It has also been suggested that because scouts already have a good idea of how players are ranked based on the game, if deciding between two equally ranked players, scouts can choose a player who scores In theory, if a player has significant room to improve on a particular physical attribute compared to an equally ranked rival, he can be coached to work on his weakness, thus raising it to a level equal to, or better than, the other player. 1). This study looked at the combined draft results of 853 players collected over multiple seasons. Also, it is interesting to note that one of the authors of the article is EJ McGuire, Head of NHL Central Scouting.
After presenting these facts to people, they often ask “How do I train to improve hockey performance?” The answer to this is simple. A good strength and conditioning program geared towards making you faster and stronger. Build some strength in your core and back muscles along with a lot of power in your hips and legs. Forget bench press for reps, crunches and curls. Do things that fill your body to athletic proportions, like Olympic-style lifting, squatting, and pulling. Plus, you can skip spinning classes and jogging. Instead, do intensive interval training for cardiovascular endurance. Here is some more good data from the combined data analysis. “The ability to generate large amounts of power was universally associated with success in hockey…Body index (height, lean mass, muscle development) was a significant predictor in all four models, which is likely associated with the nature ice hockey” (1).
With all that said, don’t be in a hurry. Too often, gamers and parents want to speed up the process. There is no need to play in the age group or travel across the country for tournaments. Very few players are ready for junior level hockey at 15 years old. In fact, these things often impede development instead of speeding it up. Instead, take the time to develop and grow. Spend time training to gain size, strength, and power. These very important features take time to improve. It takes several years of good strength and conditioning training for a player to reach good levels of strength and muscle size.
In fact, the average age of an NHL rookie was 22.66 years old in the 2009-10 season. There are very few 18 and 19 year olds in the NHL, so why rush? It only reduces your chances of succeeding as a player. He will graduate from high school and play 4 years of college hockey and he will be 22 years old. He plays one year of national junior hockey in the USHL, EJHL or NAHL and then goes to college and you’ll be done at 23. It’s no accident that the average age of an NHL rookie falls within this time frame. Most NCAA hockey programs have elaborate strength and conditioning facilities with full-time strength and conditioning coaches. This will only increase your chances of success.
So let’s take a look at some of the best players in the NHL who developed after the age of 17 or 18 when draft eligibility occurs. This is a list of the top NHL players who entered the league as undrafted free agents and where they played college/junior hockey:
Ed Belfour University. north dakota
Dino Cicarelli Knights of London
CurtisJoseph University. from wisconsin
Joe Mullen Boston College
Adam Oates RPI
Peter Statsny University. denver
Dwayne Roloson UMass Lowell
John Madden University. michigan
Rene Bourque Univ. of Wisconsin
Chris Kunitz Ferris State
Jason Blake Ferris State/North Dakota
Andy McDonald Colgate
Martin St.Louis University. from Vermont
Niklas Backstrom HIFK (Finland)
Brian Rafalski University. of Wisconsin/HIFK
Dan Boyle University. from Miami, OH
1. Relationship of physical fitness test results and hockey game potential in elite-level ice hockey players. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research. Volume 22. Number 5. September 2008.