I’m going to show you the exact training system that’s helped my athletes dominate tryouts, secure first-round draft picks, and win Stanley Cup championships.

For over two decades, I’ve worked with hockey players at every level, from promising youth athletes to established NHL pros.

In the last seven years alone, four of my athletes were first-round NHL draft picks. These players weren’t just naturally gifted—they followed a precise training blueprint that transformed their performance year after year.

This system doesn’t just build random strength or size.

It systematically develops explosive power, game-changing speed, and the kind of physical resilience that prevents season-ending injuries.

Players who follow this approach arrive at training camp ready to turn heads and dominate testing.

Quick side note - We’re hosting a special 3-day workshop with Cal Dietz, the creator of Triphasic Training, May 9th to 11th to teach these principles in person. If you’re interested, join the waitlist here, we’re launching registration in the next couple of days.

Now let’s dive in.

Unfortunately, Most Hockey Players Waste Their Off-Season

Every year, I watch talented hockey players waste their summer with training approaches that leave them burned out, slower, or injured when their season starts.

I recently consulted with a D1 prospect who had been grinding six days a week all summer.

When I watched him on the ice, I immediately noticed the problem: despite all that gym time, his first strides were sluggish, his shot lacked power, and he was gassed halfway through drills.

All that training seemed actually to make him a worse hockey player.

Here’s why so many players fail to make significant gains during the off-season:

• They focus only on lifting heavy instead of developing the explosive power and speed that transfers to the ice
• They train like bodybuilders, with high reps and slow movements that don’t translate to hockey performance
• They have no periodization strategy, so they either peak too early or arrive for the next season completely fatigued
• They mistake soreness for progress, grinding through workouts that break them down instead of building them up
• They ignore energy system development, so they’re gassed when practice intensity increases

The truth is, you don’t win the off-season by grinding harder—you win by training smarter.

Let’s break down the 8-week system I’ve used that’s created NHL talent year after year.

Phase 1: Master Force Absorption (Weeks 1-2)

Think about what separates elite hockey players from average ones.

It’s not just how fast they can skate—it’s how quickly they can stop, change direction, and explode into a new movement.

Every athletic movement starts with stopping first.

Your ability to absorb force determines how explosive you can be.

Last year, I worked with a junior player who had decent straight-line speed but couldn’t change direction without losing strides.

After just two weeks of eccentric training paired with some plyometrics, his edge work improved dramatically, and his transition game became a strength rather than a liability.

During the first two weeks, you’ll focus entirely on the lowering phase of each movement—the eccentric portion—using weights around 85% of your max. Take 4-6 seconds to lower the weight on every rep.

If you don’t know your 1 rep max, you can use this free calculator here.

This approach forces your muscles and tendons to handle enormous stress under load. When a hockey player can absorb force efficiently, they gain the foundation for explosive movement in any direction.

Key exercises include trap bar deadlifts, split squats, and single-leg Romanian deadlifts—all with slow, controlled lowering phases.

This isn’t glamorous work, but it builds the foundation that everything else relies on.

Let’s move on.

Phase 2: Build Your Connection System (Weeks 3-4)

Now that your body can absorb force effectively, it’s time to develop the stability that directly transfers to on-ice performance.

One NHL prospect I trained struggled with getting pushed off the puck despite his size and strength.

The problem wasn’t how much weight he could lift—it was that he couldn’t maintain stability in challenging positions.

After implementing isometric training, his core stability improved dramatically, and suddenly it became nearly impossible to knock him off the puck.

During weeks 3-4, you’ll add a crucial element to your training: the isometric hold. Using the same exercises from Phase 1, you’ll now add a 3-5 second pause at the hardest position of each movement.

This isometric phase does something remarkable—it teaches your nervous system to recruit more muscle fibers, creating tremendous stability exactly where hockey players need it most.

This is where you get the strongest.

When you’re battling along the boards or maintaining balance after taking a hit, this translational strength becomes your secret weapon.

The beauty of isometric training is that it builds strength without adding significant muscle mass or slowing you down. You become functionally stronger in hockey-specific positions without sacrificing speed or agility.

Phase 3: Unleash Explosive Power (Weeks 5-6)

This is where everything starts to come together, and where most players first notice a dramatic difference in their performance.

After building your foundation and stability system, it’s time to focus on explosive concentric movements—the “up” phase of each exercise.

I recently worked with a center who had gone undrafted despite his technical skills. His testing numbers were average, particularly his vertical jump and first-step quickness.

By the time we got to Phase 3, his first three strides became noticeably more explosive.

During weeks 5-6, you’ll focus on moving the weight as explosively as possible while maintaining perfect form. The descent should be controlled, but the lifting phase should be as fast as possible.

This trains your nervous system to generate maximum force in minimal time—exactly what you need for game-changing acceleration and power.

What you'll notice, is that movements that felt heavy during Phase 1 will now feel considerably lighter and faster.

That’s your nervous system adapting and becoming more efficient at generating force—a direct result of the foundation you built in the first four weeks.

Now it’s time for the finale.

Phase 4: Peak With French Contrast (Weeks 7-8)

The final phase is where we convert all your hard work into hockey-specific performance.

This is when you’ll peak your strength, power, and speed right when it matters most.

French Contrast Training is the secret weapon that elite athletes use to maximize neural drive and explosive power. It works by leveraging post-activation potentiation—essentially “tricking” your nervous system into performing at a higher level than it normally could.

One defenseman I trained improved his pro agility test by nearly a full second after just two weeks of French Contrast Training—enough to move him from the middle of the pack to elite testing numbers.

During these final two weeks, you’ll combine four types of exercises in sequence:

1. A heavy strength movement that activates your nervous system (think heavy squats)
2. An explosive plyometric exercise that builds on that activation
3. A lighter weighted movement for speed-strength
4. An accelerated or assisted explosive exercise for pure speed

For example, you might perform:

1. Heavy trap bar deadlifts (3 reps at 85% of max)
2. Box jumps (4 reps at maximum height)
3. Light dumbbell split jumps (5 reps at 30% of max)
4. Band-assisted jumps (5 reps for maximum height)

What makes French Contrast so effective is the way it trains your body to transfer strength into speed and power.

By the end of these eight weeks, you’ll have systematically built explosive power that directly translates to on-ice performance.

The Complete 8-Week System

This system works because it follows the natural progression of athletic development:

1. Weeks 1-2: Build your foundation with eccentric training
2. Weeks 3-4: Develop stability and strength with isometric holds
3. Weeks 5-6: Create explosive power with concentric focus
4. Weeks 7-8: Peak performance with French Contrast Training

The best hockey players aren’t the ones grinding themselves into the ground all summer—they’re the ones training with precision and purpose. This system makes sure you arrive at training camp or tryouts at your absolute peak, not burnt out from months of unfocused training.

If you want to implement this exact system with professional guidance and video recordings, check out our Pro Hockey Academy program. It gives you day-by-day workouts following this methodology, with video demonstrations and progress tracking to ensure you show up for next season at your absolute best.

Remember: You don’t win games in the off-season, but you do build the foundation for winning. These eight weeks can be the difference between making the team and watching from the sidelines.

Hope this helps.

See you this weekend,

Tony