Category Archives: Columns
From the Trainer’s Room: Concussion discussions, managing the concussed athlete
October 25th, 2022In the previous article of our concussion discussion, we covered some myths regarding the diagnosis of a concussion. Today, we will look at some misconceptions regarding how concussions are managed. The roadmap to managing a concussion is complex, and nuanced, and has many different paths. Navigating it can become confusing and weeding out the good…
From the Trainer’s Room: This doesn’t look like hockey training…
October 10th, 2022Our facility is fortunate to be located inside a hockey rink. This means I get to work with all the teams of our local club team that calls my rink home. As I was talking to one of the coaches who was observing his team train before a practice, he started asking questions about what…
From the Trainer’s Room: Returning to play after an injury
September 26th, 2022Injuries occur in sports. Some require rest, some rehab, and sometimes treatment and modifications to activity are necessary in order to get the athlete back into competition. Every injury and every athlete are different, so there is no black and white answer to how fast or what is needed to return to play. When an…
From the Trainer’s Room: Dealing with hockey injuries
September 12th, 2022So let’s just say you did everything right in the offseason. You stayed off your skates and recovered from last season’s injuries. You put in good work in the gym and got bigger, faster, and stronger. You felt great getting back on the ice as you practiced for the first tournament to prepare for the…
From the Trainer’s Room: Final phase of the hockey offseason
August 23rd, 2022The beginning of the hockey season is just weeks away. There are many camps going on and the demands for the players to be on the ice are increasing. So, too, must the work we do in the gym change as we enter this final phase of the offseason. To recap, the first phase of…
From the Trainer’s Room: Four ways to fight fatigue, boost recovery
August 19th, 2022With fall sports coming back into season, training intensity and frequency will ramp up for many teams, making recovery a prominent aspect of the game. As physical stress on athletes increases, their bodies are sure to feel the effects. Fatigue, muscle soreness, and dehydration are some major effects that can hinder an athlete’s performance if…
From the Trainer’s Room: Off-ice training to prepare for the season
August 8th, 2022Just like that, the summer offseason for hockey is almost over. I hope everyone spent some quality time off their skates to recover and rehab from last season. In a previous column, I spoke of using the early offseason to build strength in the gym while reducing the amount of time on ice to avoid…
From the Trainer’s Room: Sports performance training not just for improving performance
July 29th, 2022When we think of sports performance training, we think of getting faster, jumping higher and getting stronger so we can be better at our sport. Though it is true, we train to get better at our sport, but what can be forgotten is that we also train to prepare for the demands of the upcoming…
From the Trainer’s Room: Two simple exercises to improve speed on ice
July 19th, 2022Today’s hockey game is faster than ever. Today’s young stars like Trevor Zegras and Jack Hughes are so effective because of their speed. Perennial offensive stars Connor McDavid and Johnny Gaudreau have an unreal ability to accelerate and beat their opponent to the puck, which makes them so successful. Speed is determined by stride length…
From the Trainer’s Room: NHL Draft takeaway
July 11th, 2022It’s that time of year again as the NHL Draft takes place and all hockey fans glue their eyes to the television to see who will be the stars of the future. There were plenty of surprises and transactions that made this year’s draft fun to talk about, but there was one common theme I…