Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Yoga and Pilates Aid Puck Stoppers in the NHL
I found this article over at InGoal Magazine. Interesting stuff...
by Kevin Woodley
It may not fit the macho hockey stereotype, but touchy-feely exercises can help goaltenders
On the surface Yoga and Pilates hardly seem a good fit for the missing teeth, stitch-it-up and get me back in the game world of professional hockey.
I mean what self-respecting player would be caught dead in Yoga pants?
Would you believe one that once hunted bears with a bow and arrow? Or another was once named to People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People list?
Okay, so that second one, Rangers’ star Henrik Lundqvist, fits the stereotype as a slick-dressing Swede dubbed “The King” by the New York press. But can anyone really picture Boston Bruins’ standout Tim Thomas – a man so square his nickname is Tank – sprawled out in stretchy clothes trying to channel his breathing?
Evidently it shouldn’t be hard to imagine, because not only does Thomas use Yoga to improve his flexibility, he credits it for helping him get through his Vezina Trophy-winning season in 2008-09 with a hip injury that would eventually derail his campaign late last season and require major surgery this summer.
“In hindsight, probably,” Thomas wrote in an email Sunday of whether yoga helped him get through the season. “I came across a 2008 yoga evaluation report this summer that pointed out the lack of mobility of the left hip. I know we worked a lot on that area, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
Thomas went on to point out his hip wasn’t as bad then as it got last year, but the point about the value of Yoga remains. Never mind that a Yoga instructor was the first to identify a serious injury, even before that, one of the NHL’s best goaltenders believed sincerely that it helped his flexibility and his game.
“I actually didn’t know how much it was going to help, but it helps balance out your body,” Thomas told InGoal Magazine during that Vezina Trophy-winning season. “They try to find weaknesses in your body and work on them so they catch up with the rest of your body. My hip flexors, for example, were much tighter than I ever thought they were. It had never affected my play that I knew of, but adding that little bit of flexibility, working on flexibility through the hip flexors, who knows how much that has helped me? It’s hard to quantify, hard to put a percentage on how much it’s helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
“Your body is more balanced overall in terms of both flexibility and strength,” he continued. “A lot of the techniques have to do with balance. Not that I think my balance was bad, but it certainly is better now.”
Thomas certainly isn’t alone in his belief that Yoga – and for some Pilates – can help goaltenders. Former Ottawa and Philadelphia goaltender Ray Emery is using both in his attempt to get back to the NHL after undergoing a career-threatening procedure to graft bone from his lower leg into the ball of his right hip, which had deteriorated to its core. And Carolina star Cam Ward used Pilates to come back from last year’s back problem without needing surgery, and his playing partner Justin Peters got into hot yoga two years ago, saying it helps with flexibility, realigning the body and leg and core strength.
And just because it’s touchy-feely, with lots of emphasis on breathing, don’t think either Yoga or Pilates is easy, even for professional hockey players.
“It’s pretty hard when you’re not used to it,” Lundqvist once told InGoal. “As a goalie I’m supposed to be a pretty flexible guy but I learned I’m not, so I need it. It helped me relax too, but I have to keep doing it if I want to improve.”
If it improves their ability to stop pucks at the same time, NHL goalies will keep going back, no matter how much ribbing they take from teammates.
by Kevin Woodley
It may not fit the macho hockey stereotype, but touchy-feely exercises can help goaltenders
On the surface Yoga and Pilates hardly seem a good fit for the missing teeth, stitch-it-up and get me back in the game world of professional hockey.
I mean what self-respecting player would be caught dead in Yoga pants?
Would you believe one that once hunted bears with a bow and arrow? Or another was once named to People Magazine’s 100 Most Beautiful People list?
Okay, so that second one, Rangers’ star Henrik Lundqvist, fits the stereotype as a slick-dressing Swede dubbed “The King” by the New York press. But can anyone really picture Boston Bruins’ standout Tim Thomas – a man so square his nickname is Tank – sprawled out in stretchy clothes trying to channel his breathing?
Evidently it shouldn’t be hard to imagine, because not only does Thomas use Yoga to improve his flexibility, he credits it for helping him get through his Vezina Trophy-winning season in 2008-09 with a hip injury that would eventually derail his campaign late last season and require major surgery this summer.
“In hindsight, probably,” Thomas wrote in an email Sunday of whether yoga helped him get through the season. “I came across a 2008 yoga evaluation report this summer that pointed out the lack of mobility of the left hip. I know we worked a lot on that area, but I didn’t think much of it at the time.”
Thomas went on to point out his hip wasn’t as bad then as it got last year, but the point about the value of Yoga remains. Never mind that a Yoga instructor was the first to identify a serious injury, even before that, one of the NHL’s best goaltenders believed sincerely that it helped his flexibility and his game.
“I actually didn’t know how much it was going to help, but it helps balance out your body,” Thomas told InGoal Magazine during that Vezina Trophy-winning season. “They try to find weaknesses in your body and work on them so they catch up with the rest of your body. My hip flexors, for example, were much tighter than I ever thought they were. It had never affected my play that I knew of, but adding that little bit of flexibility, working on flexibility through the hip flexors, who knows how much that has helped me? It’s hard to quantify, hard to put a percentage on how much it’s helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.
“Your body is more balanced overall in terms of both flexibility and strength,” he continued. “A lot of the techniques have to do with balance. Not that I think my balance was bad, but it certainly is better now.”
Thomas certainly isn’t alone in his belief that Yoga – and for some Pilates – can help goaltenders. Former Ottawa and Philadelphia goaltender Ray Emery is using both in his attempt to get back to the NHL after undergoing a career-threatening procedure to graft bone from his lower leg into the ball of his right hip, which had deteriorated to its core. And Carolina star Cam Ward used Pilates to come back from last year’s back problem without needing surgery, and his playing partner Justin Peters got into hot yoga two years ago, saying it helps with flexibility, realigning the body and leg and core strength.
And just because it’s touchy-feely, with lots of emphasis on breathing, don’t think either Yoga or Pilates is easy, even for professional hockey players.
“It’s pretty hard when you’re not used to it,” Lundqvist once told InGoal. “As a goalie I’m supposed to be a pretty flexible guy but I learned I’m not, so I need it. It helped me relax too, but I have to keep doing it if I want to improve.”
If it improves their ability to stop pucks at the same time, NHL goalies will keep going back, no matter how much ribbing they take from teammates.
Devan Dubnyk 2010-11 Mask
Devan Dubnyk of the Edmonton Oilers (born May 4, 1986 in Regina SK.)
Edited on 11/16/10: Thanks to Goalie Guild I found out that Dubnyk has two masks this season. His main mask has a pond hockey scene. Here's the video where he talked about his mask.
The backplate has a big giraffe in goalie gear along with a child in pink sitting in the snow, Dubnyk’s niece, and a breast cancer awareness ribbon for his mom.
Thanks to visitor, Kevin, I found out this design is very similar to that of Bill Ranford, goalie for the Oilers during the late 80s and early-mid 90s (2 Stanley Cup years in there.) I'll include a photo of Ranford at the bottom of the post for comparison. I guess this might be meant as a tribute to Ranford then. Thanks, Kevin!
Edited on 11/16/10: Thanks to Goalie Guild I found out that Dubnyk has two masks this season. His main mask has a pond hockey scene. Here's the video where he talked about his mask.
The backplate has a big giraffe in goalie gear along with a child in pink sitting in the snow, Dubnyk’s niece, and a breast cancer awareness ribbon for his mom.
The next mask is his alternate one for their throwback jerseys.
Thanks to visitor, Kevin, I found out this design is very similar to that of Bill Ranford, goalie for the Oilers during the late 80s and early-mid 90s (2 Stanley Cup years in there.) I'll include a photo of Ranford at the bottom of the post for comparison. I guess this might be meant as a tribute to Ranford then. Thanks, Kevin!
Bill Ranford (Oiler from 1987-88 to 1995-96 seasons.)
Saturday, November 6, 2010
NHL Saves of the Week 11/2/10
Bobrovsky, Quick, Budaj, Elliott, Roloson, Backstrom, Pavelec, Johnson, Neuvirth, and Backstrom. Yup, Backstrom twice...no wonder Theo isn't getting any starts. Backstrom is on fire.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Scott Clemmensen 2010-11 Masks
Scott Clemmensen of the Florida Panthers (born July 23, 1977 in Des Moines, IA.)
Clemmensen has two masks this season. The first is a panther head. You can see the eyes on top of the mask and the teeth around the face area.
Clemmensen has two masks this season. The first is a panther head. You can see the eyes on top of the mask and the teeth around the face area.
The second mask has bronze panthers on either side of the mask, facing each other.
Tomas Vokoun 2010-11 Mask
Tomas Vokoun of the Florida Panthers (born July 2, 1976 in Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic.)
The mask here at the top is one he began wearing in December 2010. The mask toward the bottom is his first mask of the season.
The mask here at the top is one he began wearing in December 2010. The mask toward the bottom is his first mask of the season.
Below is the first mask he wore this season.
Jason LaBarbera 2010-11 Mask
Jason LaBarbera of the Phoenix Coyotes (born Jan. 18, 1980 in Burnaby, BC.)
Edit: Thanks to DJ, I now know these are all wrestlers on his mask (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Underaker & Vince McMahon.) Thanks, DJ! Check out up-close photos at her site (http://shawnmichaelsweb.com/2010/04/11/shawn-michaels-goalie-mask/)
Edit: Thanks to DJ, I now know these are all wrestlers on his mask (Bret Hart, Shawn Michaels, Underaker & Vince McMahon.) Thanks, DJ! Check out up-close photos at her site (http://shawnmichaelsweb.com/2010/04/11/shawn-michaels-goalie-mask/)
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