Photo credit: Kelowna Rockets

By Regan Bartel

Off-season preparation pays off

Rockets’ players come into camp physically fit

Sep 6, 2024 | 7:00 AM

It wasn’t that long ago that NHL prospect Sam Bennett was chastised for failing to do a single chin-up at the NHL Scouting Combine. 

It was 2014 when Bennett surprised many with the inability to pull his body, even once, over the bar using his back and arms. 

That lack of upper body strength didn’t deter the Calgary Flames from selecting him fourth overall after earning 91 points with the OHL’s Kingston Frontenacs the season prior. Despite that poor physical showing that day, Bennett has played in over 600 games at the NHL level and has a Stanley Cup ring to show for it after winning it all with the Florida Panthers in June. 

Proving that physical conditioning, or upper body strength, isn’t the be-all and end-all in a hockey player’s success on the ice, taking off-season training seriously is typically a sign of an individual’s commitment to excellence. Athletes can make gains in conditioning, endurance, strength, balance and speed.  

How you eat, how you rest and recover, and how you train are still key markers in evaluating who is willing to sacrifice to make themselves better, while separating themselves from the pack. 

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When the Kelowna Rockets physical testing results came in this week, some notable performances took place, especially when it came to the aforementioned chin-ups, where typically the latissimus dorsi muscle (lats) are used and bicep strength is engaged. 

Five players were able to complete no less than 20 chin-ups. On that list was veteran d-man Caden Price, who takes his conditioning very seriously. The third-round selection of the Seattle Kraken needs to considering he logs the most minutes of anyone on the ice. Also on that list of completing 20 repetitions was rookies Kalder Varga and Connor Pankratz, second year d-man Jackson Gillespie and 19-year-old defender Ethan Mittelsteadt.  

Price also led the way in two vertical jumping events, followed closely by Varga. In fact, in weigh-ins, Price tipped the scales at 194 pounds, which is an impressive weight to body ratio considering how lean and quick he is on his skates.   

With an emphasis on lower body strength and flexibility to enable hockey players to be more explosive in their skating stride, upper body strength – typically in today’s training – isn’t the focus. That said, among the exercises tested was the 135-pound bench press. With word that rookie forward Kanjyu Gojsic is extremely powerful in the gym, the 16-year-old didn’t disappoint with a whopping 27 repetitions. That was a team high. The next closest was overage forward Max Graham with 21 reps and Jackson Gellespie, who has tree trunks for legs, managed an impressive 20 repetitions.  

Even in traditional exercises like sit-ups, which everyone preformed in elementary school or junior high, some players had more success than others. Rookie d-man Lachlan Staniforth completed a team high 58 over a two-minute period. Leading scorer Andrew Cristall and 20 year-old Michael Cicek completed 55 sit-ups while goalie Jake Pilon turned a few heads with 53.  

In summary, the off-ice testing in 15 disciplines showed as a group, the 2024-2025 Kelowna Rockets are in better physical condition than a season ago. Each player was committed to summer off-ice training, and should be applauded for coming into camp in excellent condition.  

The worst fear for management and coaches is seeing a player come into camp overweight and underconditioned.  

It wasn’t a problem when the team gathered Tuesday at the indoor sports field at MNP Place [Formerly the Capital News Centre] under the watchful eye of Kelowna High Performance.