Saturday, June 03, 2006

Gross

The NHL is holding their draft combine this weekend, and North Dakota's Jonathan and Minnesota's Phil Kessel both made news; not for what they did during their workout, but what they did after their workouts. TSN reported on their combine blog that both Toews and Kessel needed a bucket to vomit into after their workout on a stationary bike.

Both players didn't necessarily get the best reviews for their physical testing. But anything that gets made of this will be too much, in my opinion. I didn't need a room full of scientists and NHL scouts to tell me that Jonathan Toews would fall below the median in a bench press competition, when the NHL loves to invite 6+ ft. 200+ lbs. players to this thing.

TSN also made the point that the college season ended in April for most players(March for Phil Kessel*), while the major junior players played much deeper into the spring. There's a lot to be said for being in "game shape" and it's pretty much impossible to maintain, no matter how hard you work. Kessel was said to do well in the strength tests, which is much easier to work on over the summer.

In the end, these workouts aren't that big of a deal. Teams are going to focus more on what a player can do on the ice instead of what they do in a weight room. Hopefully people don't focus too much on the performance of Kessel and Toews on the stationary bike.







*In case you missed it, Minnesota lost to Holy Cross in the first round of the NCAA tournament. It was kind of a big deal.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Agreed...and I think in hockey, more than in any other sport, these tests are mostly worthless. Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux weren't exactly ripped or in incredible aerobic shape, and they turned out ok.

Anonymous said...

Kessel has always been soft and looks like a IM player, but then he can amaze you in situations that count. Like his stats as a freshman. could you imagine if he watched his diet and really worked out? Like EJ? Or Skille?

Anonymous said...

Whay about Peter Mueller at the Combine? that kid was Adonis at like age 12. Could he cut the mustard at camp? Looking for a full review.

Anonymous said...

From what I've heard Kessel actually weighed 8 pounds less at the combine than in the regular season, but whoever said Kessel needs to watch his diet is right as he had the highest percentage(or second highest) body fat on the team in preseason testing. But the guy is very naturally strong though.

Badger Backer said...

No, no it doesn't.