Study Shows Off-Ice Fitness Tests Directly Correlate to On-Ice Numbers

A study at Canadian Acadia University has shown that off-ice fitness tests directly correlate to on-ice performance. The experiments were conducted using volunteer AA and AAA players ages 15-22 and compared scores and times for a 35-m skating sprint and turning and cornering tests against an off-ice compilation of 30-m sprints, vertical jumps, broad jumps, 3 hop jumps, Edgren side shuffles, Hexagon agility tests, side support tests, push-ups, and a 15-second modified Wingate. The experimenters concluded: "These data indicate that coaches should include horizontal power tests of off-ice sprint and 3 hop jump to adequately assess skating ability. To improve on-ice skating performance and cornering ability, coaches should also focus on the development of horizontal power through specific off-ice training, although future research will determine whether off-ice improvements in horizontal power directly transfer to improvements in on-ice skating." Everyone knows that off-ice conditioning is paramount to creating a dominant program but it seems unlikely that enough coaches are using off-ice conditioning to create skill assessments of their players.