Houston Aeros - American Hockey League (AHL) - Built For Success - On MLN Sports Zone

Built For Success
A dedication to off-season workouts could be the key for many AHL players striving to make that next step.

10.15.04 - Sugarland, Texas – Other than the players themselves, perhaps no one understands that hockey is a 12-month sport better than Minnesota Wild director of strength and conditioning, Kirk Olson.

In his second season with the Wild, Olson is largely responsible for the team's off-season training regime.

As Minnesota's AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros have also been able to utilize some of Olson's expertise recently. For the past two weeks, Kirk has been in Houston helping the Wild's prospects get ready for the season.

According to Olson, who has also worked for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, a young hockey player's "off-season" really lasts less than a month.

"I usually advise my veterans to take a little more time off," said Olson. "Hockey is a constant pounding with rigorous traveling. It gets even worse in the AHL. The younger kids, I usually recommend two to four weeks off. The day after the season ends, they don't feel like working out ever again. But a week later, they start chomping at the bit to get after it. They're going stir crazy."

Once the rest period is over, each player begins a training regiment customized for them by the team. Many players then continue the training over the summer at two Wild training camps.

Many players in the Aeros training camp this season have made tremendous physical strides in the past 12 months – possibly no two more than Zbynek Michalek and Derek Boogaard.

Michalek came to the Wild organization two summers ago at 6-foot-1, 180 pounds. Now, he's up to 200 pounds, with considerably broader shoulders than he had even at the end of the 2003-04 season.

"We didn't do anything out of the ordinary with him," said Olson. "It's called hard work. He came in and put his nose to the grindstone. At the end of last season, he spent some time with the Wild, and I'm sure he heard it from (Wild head coach) Jacques Lemaire and the staff during the exit interviews. I'm sure they had things to say to him. We're always candid. We're not going to pull any punches. It's their career, and we want to help them."

Michalek's work ethic is something Olson has seen with many European players.

"One thing you notice about Z-Man and all the European players (is) they are very professional in what they do," said Olson. "They work hard in everything you ask them to do. They are adamant in paying attention to detail. Zbynek is not a real vocal leader, but in my opinion he's definitely a leader by example. We put the ball in the player's court. 'Z' fired back and worked his tail off. Therefore, the muscle size and strength has come."

While Boogaard has worked to reshape his gargantuan 6-foot-7, 270-pound frame to include more muscle, his greatest work has come in his agility and skating ability.

Two years ago in ECHL Louisiana, Boogaard was considered a project. He started to reap the benefits of hard work last season in Houston, receiving more ice time. In the 2004-05 preseason, Boogaard has already scored his first two goals, and he is notably faster.

"He's always been a fairly strong skater," said Olson. "The big thing that needed to happen for him was he needed to become more coordinated. He's 6-foot-7 on skates, 270 pounds. He just needed time to grow into his body and become an athlete. You saw those two goals. You'd call them finesse goals. You wouldn't call them garbage goals."

Olson said Boogaard's confidence, bolstered by his performance this preseason, is a key to his success.

"The big thing for Boogie is not necessarily his size and strength, it's his confidence level," said Olson. "He believes he should be here. I think two years ago he had trouble thinking he fit in. It all comes together to one to help create that confidence."

One of the reasons Olson said he likes to work so hard with tough players like Boogaard are so they aren't "pigeon-holed into an enforcer role."

"I want my guys to be as skillful as possible," he said. "We need to continue to work on Boogie's stick handling. He needs to become better at that. Boogie's really fast once he gets those long legs going. He can get up and going pretty good."

Now that Boogaard is using his legs more when he skates, the next step is working on his quickness.

"He needs to enhance his quickness," said Olson. "It will make him even more of a lethal player."

One final player that Olson is excited to get the chance to see is goalie Mike Smith. He belongs to another organization – Dallas – but that doesn't stop Olson's jaw dropping at the sight of the 6-foot-3, 210-pound netminder.

"For crying out loud, Smith is put together, and he's an ominous presence in the goal crease," said Olson, who has helped Smith with off-ice workouts in the last week because Smith has been rehabbing an injury.

"From my take on him, and I've worked with him one-on-one more than I have with a lot of the players, is that he's a heck of an athlete. Good for Dallas. I think they've got a good prospect there."