These guys will not be outworked. Repeat, not outworked!

Which Denver hockey players unleash the beast on a regular basis in practice, games and in their off-ice training? Who leads by example, and who has won the draw against adversity time and again?

The seventh part of MagnessMayhem.com’s exclusive Denver hockey player survey tackles these questions. Pioneers players were polled anonymously in early December. The survey included 25 questions that covered a range of skills.

MORE OF THE SURVEY

Part 1 examined skating

Part 2 dealt with strength and toughness

Part 3 revealed the shooting stars

Part 4 tracked the good hands Pioneers

Part 5 focused on the eyes

Part 6 got defensive

Now on to part 7 of the survey:

Question 23: Which player consistently is the hardest worker on and off the ice?

• Ian Mitchell – 60 percent of the votes
• Ryan Barrow, Hank Crone, Griffin Mendel, Kohen Olischefski, Emilio Pettersen – 8 percent

Analysis: The junior captain eats, drinks and sleeps the game. His constant quest for improvement is legendary. For his Christmas break he headed to Europe to play for Team Canada in the Spengler Cup and didn’t look out of place at all against seasoned pros. … All three juniors on this list have taken major leaps in their games, and this is why. It’s also a big reason why Crone has fit in so seamlessly in his first year in the program and why the always relentless Pettersen has come back from a major injury without skipping a beat.

Question 24: Which player is the most resilient?

• Tyler Ward – 28 percent
• Jack Doremus, Emilio Pettersen – 16 percent
• Ryan Barrow, Jake Durflinger, Erich Fear, Liam Finlay, Ian Mitchell – 8 percent

Analysis: Some players on this list have had to overcome injuries, some have had to overcome uncertainty as to when or with whom they would play on a given night. There are a lot of very integral parts to Denver’s lineup listed above, so it should be no surprise the Pioneers were able to greatly exceed outside expectations last season and are primed to be in the mix in late March and April again this campaign.

Question 25: Which player consistently leads by example the most?

• Ian Mitchell – 84 percent
• Michael Davies, Jack Doremus – 8 percent

Analysis: As one would expect, the captain is the clear-cut leader of the Pioneers pack. Various players have told me over the course of this season that Mitchell not only leads by his work ethic, but he can re-focus the group in a measured, professional manner when he senses things might be trending a bit loosey goosey. … Davies is another straight shooter, and Doremus does an excellent job of keeping the same upbeat, hard working approach day-in, day-out.

Next: Breaking down the survey

What changed from previous years? Satisfy your curiosity by checking out the 2018-19 survey and the 2017-18 survey.

Want the rundown on DU’s first half? Magness Mayhem’s midseason report looks at in detail.

©First Line Editorial 2019