Off-Ice Testing Predictive Capabilities of On-Ice Performance Attributes in Men’s Varsity Hockey Players

Abstract

Ice hockey is a physically demanding contact sport that requires players to perform repeated bouts of high-energy output with shifts lasting from 30 to 80 seconds. Predicting on-ice performance during a game is difficult. Physical and anthropometric testing has been commonly used in hockey to predict and evaluate fitness attributes (i.e. strength, agility, flexibility), which the hockey community believes are advantageous to several sport-specific tasks in hockey, such as the player’s skating speed and balance. PURPOSE. To explore the relationship between NHL combine testing results and on-ice testing assessments among elite varsity hockey players. METHODS. Twenty-five Men’s Varsity Hockey players from McGill University (age: 22.8 ±1.43, height: 1.81 ±0.06, weight: 87.13, ±6.73, %BF: 16.21 ±4.03) participated in the study. Participants performed the 2015 standard NHL combine tests. On-ice testing was conducted using advanced timing equipment to control for errors. Tests completed by the players were the 30-m forward and backward sprints, transition agility test, weave agility test, and pro-agility test. Six NHL teams currently use this battery of on-ice tests, to replicate game like situations. RESULTS. See attached table for results. CONCLUSION. It can be concluded that most of the NHL combine tests were not correlated with the on-ice measures of performance obtained. Improving the sport-specific nature of dryland testing represents a priority for sport scientists working with elite hockey players.Table 1: Correlations of NHL 2015 combine tests to novel on-ice testing protocol.