Do Jr. & Pro hockey players take caffine pills or other legal drugs to enhance their play?

Question

I just went to a AAA Midget hockey game and saw a player popping something into his mouth and wash it down with water. On a televised game, saw Ovechkin drinking a can of Coke on the bench. What do they take and how does it help them?

Answer 1

Many, if not most athletes involved in pro sports take some type of a substance to help them in their game. Caffeine helps an athlete by speeding up his heart rate and making him more hyper and aware. It also supposedly provides you with an extra "push" when you need it. Steroid abuse is also abound in pro sports where millions of dollars are on the line every day. Young players coming up want to be noticed and will take steroids to help them selves. Players that have been around a while will take steroids to stay around longer and keep earning the money they do.

Answer 2

Some players do drink coffee pre-game, but I don't know about during games. Back in the Oilers glory days, Glen Sather once had decaffeinated coffee supplied to the visitors dressing room during a playoff series.

Back when the NHL announced that it was playing in the Nagano Olympics, reports began to surface about the use of over-the-counter cold remedies i.e. Sudafed, that players would take that contained psuedo-ephedrine and other stimulants.

There are probably lots of players who are taking either borderline legal or illicit supplements to improve or enhance their play. It would be naive to think otherwise, but I don't think it would be as rampant as it might be in other sports. Hockey isn't a pure power sport, so muscle building wouldn't be as high a priority as it would be for a power-hitter in baseball or a lineman in football.

Answer 3

One could be medicine, and Ovechkin can have a ritual. But generally hockey players don't take steroids or caffeine because it slows them down later on.