F-15 Thematic Poster - Physical Activity Assessment

Abstract

Over the past few decades, fitness training has become integral to collegiate ice hockey, with the goal of improving on-ice performance. However, the change in anthropometric and fitness profiles of collegiate ice hockey players has not been addressed. In addition, it is not known whether these characteristics differ in athletes who later play in the National Hockey League (NHL) compared to those who do not. PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to describe anthropometric (height, weight, BMI, %fat) and aerobic fitness (VO2max) characteristics of collegiate ice hockey players over 32 years, and to evaluate whether these characteristics differ from those athletes who later played professionally in the NHL. METHODS: Physiologic and anthropometric profiles were obtained through preseason fitness testing of all players from a NCAA Division I men’s ice hockey team from 1980 through 2012. Athletes (N=56) who later played at least one year in the NHL were also compared to athletes who did not. Descriptive statistics (means, standard deviations) were calculated for overall teams, as well as NHL players as a group. Changes over time in variables of interest for each year’s team were evaluated via regression analysis using linear and polynomial models. Comparisons between average team characteristics and future NHL athletes were assessed via analysis of variance. RESULTS: Regression analysis revealed that a cubic model best predicted changes in mean height (R2=0.60) and weight (R2=0.76) over time, while quadratic and cubic models were virtually identical in predicting change in BMI over time (R2=0.66). There were no significant changes found for either %fat or VO2max over the 32 years of data collection, however, team averages were slightly, yet significantly (P<0.01) greater for %fat (12.5±1.3 % vs 10.7±3.6 %) and significantly less for VO2max (57.9±1.9 ml.kg-1.min-1 vs 60.4±4.9 ml.kg-1.min-1). There were no differences in heights (181.7±2.1 cm vs 182.5±4.9 cm), weights (83.9±3.2 kg vs 84.2±6.5 kg), or BMI (25.4±0.6 vs 25.3±1.8), between team and future NHL athletes, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: While average player heights and weights fluctuated, increased emphasis on off ice fitness training did not appear to affect athletes’ relative body fatness or aerobic fitness levels.