They come to Denver at similar points in their hockey journey, but where they leave to is largely up to them.

Fortunately for Pioneers hockey players present and past, Matt Shaw and his team are there to help.

Shaw, the school’s director of sports performance, works with athletes in every sport, but some of his program’s biggest success stories have come from the high profile hockey program, which has had an impressive run of success for many years. It’s collective – the Pioneers have reached the NCAA Tournament during his first six seasons at the school (part of an NCAA-best 11-year run) and have gone to the elite eight four years in a row, a stretch that includes the 2017 national championship. And it’s also individual – five Pioneers signed NHL contracts after last season, giving them the potential to join recent Pioneers such as Will Butcher (an NHL all-rookie pick last season) and Danton Heinen in the League.

Suffice to say, whatever is going on at the Pat Bowlen Training Center is working.

What follows is part 1 of our inside look at DU’s strength and conditioning program.

Measurable results

Regardless of players’ hockey backgrounds, most arrive at DU needing to add strength, speed or both to their games in order to perform at an even higher level.

“If you look at the NHL, guys who would have been looked at as undersized are now being given opportunities to play at the next level. You’re seeing the size of the guys isn’t as much of a factor as the speed and the on-ice skill level,” Shaw says. “From our end we look at key performance indicators such as relative strength, how strong someone is relative to their body mass.

“If you have a 200-pound athlete who can squat 400 pounds vs. a 150-pound athlete who can squat 400 pounds, that 150-pound athlete is at a higher rate of force relative to their body mass. That for us is one of the key indicators in terms of their on-ice speed and force production. We use that as one of our biggest priorities. If we’re going to get them stronger it needs to be relative to their body mass.”

Former coach Jim Montgomery demanded a fast, pressure-packed pace, attributes that undoubtedly will continue under new coach David Carle. So it should come as no surprise what Shaw and Co. emphasize.

“Speed is the biggest priority we have,” Shaw says. “It can make such a big difference. Wear teams down across all three periods or overtime. And the repeated nature of that … If we can have an incredibly fit and fast team, it gives us an incredible advantage.”

Tearing down

Grant Arnold was a mess in 2012. Yes, he came to DU as a two-time Clark Cup champion with Green Bay of the United States Hockey League, and yes, the Centennial native was recruited to play for his hometown team. But physically he was a mess.

“I weighed 237 pounds when I came in,” Arnold says. “I was a big fighter in junior. My role there was play on the fourth line and cause havoc.

“My hip labrum was torn when I arrived, but I was a 21-year-old freshman and didn’t want to redshirt.

“One of the first things Monty told me when he looked at me was, ‘You know this is hockey, not football.’

“I don’t want to say I was a goon, but I had to learn a much different role and re-evaluate things.”

At that point, Arnold and Shaw had a meeting of the minds. What could the strength coach do to help Arnold endure his freshman season, which was followed by hip surgery.

“Grant was too heavy for our style of play and what was going to be expected of him,” Shaw says.

Rather than Lean on Me, this tune was Lean You Down.

“We have similar passions, work ethics and a priority on building relationships,” Arnold says. “I made a commitment to change the player I was. I did a lot more cardio, I changed my nutrition and I cut out alcohol. From Day 1, I was all in and so was Shawzy. His approach was – and still is – whatever you need.”

In Arnold, Shaw had his work cut out for him.

“Grant had a lot of injuries (he’d later need shoulder surgery as well), and he had a lot of useless weight,” Shaw recalls. “His speed completely changed on the ice, his movement completely changed. It took time and a lot of hard work.”

Arnold summarizes their relationship: “For me, it was let’s change this bruiser into a real athlete.”

The end result? Arnold lost 41 pounds, down to 196 by his senior season. His body fat percentage went from near 20 to 6. He was a two-time captain (one of just three in DU’s history) and has returned to pro hockey this season after a one-year break coaching in the USHL.

MORE INSIDE THE PIONEERS STORIES

Part 2 of Building better hockey players

Keeping DU well equipped

24 hours behind the scenes

And building up

While Arnold was an extreme case in rebuilding a player, there are many more stories of building up players under Shaw’s watch.

Defensemen Josiah Didier and Scott Mayfield came to DU with large frames (6-foot-2 and 6-4, respectively), but the defensemen lacked the strength to succeed at the highest levels of college and pro hockey. Enter Shaw and his team, which includes two other full-time staffers and a handful of part-timers and interns.

“The opposite is guys like Josiah Didier and Scott Mayfield, who are still playing professionally, who put on close to 30 pounds of lean muscle mass during their college careers,” Shaw says. “They’re physical specimens now. They had huge frames, but they still move really well for their size, and that allows them to be successful.”

Troy Terry weighed 160 pounds when he arrived at DU three summers ago, and that was after a year of intense training with the U.S. National Team Development Program. He departed for the Anaheim Ducks’ rookie camp recently tipping the scales 25 pounds heavier.

“It’s all lean muscle,” Shaw says. “Troy is incredible strong pound for pound, and that’s what makes him durable on the ice. It’s fun to see him progress and see him at the NHL level.”

Just as the nutrition component was huge for Arnold, it’s equally as vital for those trying to make gains, Shaw says. The Pioneers keep food logs that track their intake, their timing and the quality of what they’re eating.

“Troy has an incredibly high metabolism, so we had to look at high quality foods as well as slower digesting ones,” Shaw says. “There are tweaks based on whatever the situation is for the guy to make sure they’re eating right.

“Will (Butcher) came and was carrying a good amount of extra body weight, but it was difficult for him to lose weight no matter what he did. We got creative managing his nutrition, had him take a food allergen test. … Those things make a pretty drastic impact.”

No summer vacation

The season is over, school is out … and Shaw is busier than ever.

Summer has become crucial for hockey players’ training, particularly those in the pros or with pro aspirations. DU and Shaw have built a cottage industry of sorts, as dozens of alums return to campus each year to work out under his direction. They join what was this year a large contingent getting ready for their first pro training camps, a list that included Terry, Dylan Gambrell (San Jose Sharks), Blake Hillman (Chicago Blackhawks) and Logan O’Connor (Colorado Avalanche).

“For our younger guys who are drafted or getting NHL camp invites, I have to prep them for those camps,” Shaw says. “We want to take care of them in their career.

“(We also) ensure we’re working with NHL organizations and what they want to see in terms of their development. The majority of the perspectives are usually the same. Every NHL organization has a unique testing battery. We try to keep our athletes here and prepare for those tests, just to make sure they have a level of success (right away).”

The system obviously works because players who could afford any training anywhere elect to come back to DU, summer after summer.

“We have a high amount of buy-in from our athletes,” Shaw says. “We’re taking care of them not only in their collegiate careers, but also their total career longevity. So when they sign pro contracts, generally speaking, the majority are coming back here for the offseason.

“Guys like Paul Stastny, Tyler Bozak, some of our NHL alums have been with me seven years. Now some of our young guys are going through the same thing. We’re able to provide them resources in terms of offseason oversight, unbelievable facilities, access to two sheets of ice. They have everything underneath one roof.

“We’re able to deliver a level of support that is completely unique.”

And a body of work that grows more impressive by the year.

NEXT: The Pioneers’ Process extends to the gym

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