Speed skating is a different sport but can it help with hockey speed?

Question

Would speed skating help with hockey speed or would it encourage incorrect form?

speedskating with different skates and the skinsuit.

Answer 1

The few NHL players I know who went to speedskating camp, weren't in the NHL very long afterwards. So, from a talent evaluation standpoint - I wouldn't recommend it

Powerskating is what you should be looking at. Eric Heiden had to re-learn how to skate in the early 80 while playing hockey in Norway because different muscle groups are used for speed skating and power skating. he eventually gave up and became a cyclist and then a surgeon (When not being a surgeon, Eric Heiden is the team doctor for the US Speed Skating team)

Several teams in the NHL currently have powerskating coaches, and there are several independent powerskating coaches, the most notable being Laura Stamm. She was the first NHL endorsed powerskating coach back in the 1970s and Al Arbour sent the Islanders to see her every summer, a practice that Glen Sather eventually adopted. With the success of the Oilers and Islanders in the 1980s, just about every team started preaching powerskating.......and this trickled all the way down to the junior ranks.

So, I recommend power skating!

Answer 2

To some extent but they do speed skating over distances rather than for actual speed (except the sprints) which means the stride is different. You might want to look for power skating classes instead. These concentrate on hockey skating skills like turns and skating backwards as well as stops and starts.

AND Eric Heiden never played in the NHL. He doubled as a competitive cyclist though. He also got a doctors degree and was for a while one of the team physicians for the Sacramento Kings.

I do believe Montreal or Quebec looked into adding Gatean Boucher (also a world class speed skater) to their rosters but I think it was more of a publicity stunt than anything and it never went anywhere.

Answer 3

No. I saw on tv AGES ago on this. I think it was Jagr who proved to the league that he was the fastest skater in the All-Star game. He went up against a speed-skating novice and the novice made Jagr eat his ice shavings. It's got something to do with the skate blade itself or something like that. Again, this was a long, long time ago that I saw this, but I can 100% say that speed-skating will not help you with hockey speed just because of the equipment involved.

Now, speed-skating exercises (on hockey skates even), that will help you with your hockey speed because it trains and targets certain muscles in your legs.

Answer 4

stride and skates are different - stick with hockey and look for power skating camps

Answer 5

i went to all types of camps when i played. i went to speed skating camps and also had individual skating classes. even when i was the fastest person i would still go to camps. speed is everything!

Answer 6

i know tons of people who go to speed skating camps and they are hockey players, it will defenetly help.

Answer 7

Hockey Speed Skating