Kevin Neeld — Hockey Training, Sports Performance, & Sports Science

College Hockey & NHL Draft

Last weekend I had an opportunity to go to the NHL draft, which was an awesome experience. Anthony DeAngelo, who I’ve worked with for the last several off-seasons ended up being drafted 19th overall by the Tampa Bay Lightening. Ant has worked exceptionally hard over the Summer as long as I’ve known him and is admirably diligent in doing everything that’s asked of him. Not only is he a great hockey player, but he also exemplifies the “it matters what you do when no one is watching” idea. I couldn’t be happier for him.

I was also excited to see Dwyer Tschantz, another player I’ve worked with for the last few Summers” get drafted by the St. Louis Blues. Dwyer was the first player to ever be drafted from the great state of Delaware and has an incredibly bright future ahead of him. At 6’6” with his strength and skill, I think he’s just now starting to tap into his true potential. It’ll be exciting to watch him develop over the next several years.

Dwyer Tschantz

Dwyer doing RFE Split Squats w/ 100s last Summer.

Congratulations to all of the other players that got drafted this year. It’s an incredible honor and likely a testament to all the hard work you’ve put in up to this point.

With all of the discussion about the draft, this is a timely article on the connection between playing college hockey and future success in the NHL. Not every player is best suited for major juniors, nor is every player best suited for college.

Identifying the best path for any given player is a crucial part of that players’ development.

That said, I think there are fairly strong reasons to believe that the practice:game ratio and emphasis on off-ice training at the collegiate level give most players a more favorable environment to develop their skills and physical capacities.

Check out the article here: NCAA Leads in NHL Draft Success

To your success,

Kevin Neeld
HockeyTransformation.com
OptimizingMovement.com
UltimateHockeyTraining.com

P.S. If you want to take the guess work out of your off-season training and start using a program proven to deliver results, be sure to check this out >> Ultimate Hockey Transformation

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Kevin Neeld

Kevin Neeld Knows Hockey

Kevin has rapidly established himself as a leader in the field of physical preparation and sports science for ice hockey. He is currently the Head Performance Coach for the Boston Bruins, where he oversees all aspects of designing and implementing the team’s performance training program, as well as monitoring the players’ performance, workload and recovery. Prior to Boston, Kevin spent 2 years as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the San Jose Sharks after serving as the Director of Performance at Endeavor Sports Performance in Pitman, NJ. He also spent 5 years as a Strength and Conditioning Coach with USA Hockey’s Women’s Olympic Hockey Team, and has been an invited speaker at conferences hosted by the NHL, NSCA, and USA Hockey.