Meet the Calgary Flames secret off ice weapon

[sureLoss]

http://www.thehockeynews.com/blog/me...ff-ice-weapon/

Talk about moving from the penthouse to the basement. And it’s not like Ryan van Asten was kicked out. This summer, he gave up all that Stanley Cup glory and great weather in Los Angeles to come to Calgary and take over a major fixer-upper in one of the most frigid climates on the NHL map.

Now, before you go thinking ‘What the f-bomb was he thinking?’ van Asten did have very good reasons for leaving sunny southern California after three seasons as the Kings’ strength and conditioning coach.

First and foremost, he’d spent most of the past three years living in L.A. while his wife, Jackie, who’s a doctor, remained in Calgary.
Second, Cowtown is van Asten’s adopted home, where he worked for six years and met his wife before taking the job with the Kings.
Third, the guy just loves a good challenge.

“It is intriguing to me to come to a team like this that’s rebuilding and see if I can leave my mark,” van Asten said. “We’re starting from ground zero here, and it’s going to be a long process.

“When I got to L.A., a lot of the pieces were in place, and I did my best to leave my mark there, and I think I did a good job that way. But here, it’s a completely different situation from when I got to L.A., and it’s exciting for me to have this challenge. In this market, if we could win a championship here, it would just be amazing.”

Van Asten, 33, comes to Calgary with an impressive résumé, which includes a physical and health education degree from Queen’s University and a master’s degree in neuromuscular physiology at the University of Calgary. In three seasons with the Kings, he helped them to two Stanley Cups. Prior to that, he worked for Hockey Canada, training the national women’s hockey team, which won gold at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

[Hemi-Cuda]

I'd put extra weight behind this hiring over grabbing another trainer from a successful franchise because it's the Kings. They never have award winning regular seasons, but come playoff time as teams get tired and injured the Kings seem to find another gear and dominate. If we got the guy partially responsible for that then I'm stoked

[SuperMatt18]

Already see it in the third period of games.

Flames have been dominating 3rd periods on the scoreboard, and part of that could be because they are conditioned so well that they have more energy in the tank.

[Gaudfather]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I'd put extra weight behind this hiring over grabbing another trainer from a successful franchise because it's the Kings. They never have award winning regular seasons, but come playoff time as teams get tired and injured the Kings seem to find another gear and dominate. If we got the guy partially responsible for that then I'm stoked

I like your thinking - "come playoff time".

[IntenseFan]

The title made me think this thread would be about Scorch.

[foshizzle11]

yes, I like this. Can't go wrong with someone who has lead the NHL in training a championship club. Great moves so far over Burke's tenure. I honestly think they are making some great moves internally and this is one of them that will make a big difference on the ice. I think we are already seeing it. I really hope Bennett gets to stay in Calgary for his rehab and work with this guy and comes to camp next summer in wicked shape. I think they should encourage anyone who is on the bubble next summer to stay in Calgary and train with this guy. I know if I was in Addy right now I would want any advantage i could get and this is a good place to start.

[Hugh Jahrmes]

Awesome find sureLoss. As was already pointed out, his effect may already be visible in the third period. If we could buckle down later in the season and do some damage like the Kings, that would be badass.

[TheDebaser]

I'm glad this team finally acquired proper fitness training.

[Gaskal]

Feels good knowing that Monahan, Colborne, and Hunter Smith will be developing physically under this man's watch.

[Bill Bumface]

Kind of convenient when the trainer for the reigning champions happens to have a wife who is living in Calgary the whole time for career reasons, and we can lure a guy up that may have otherwise been very happy staying put. Yay us!

[FlamesAddiction]

Originally Posted by Hemi-Cuda

I'd put extra weight behind this hiring over grabbing another trainer from a successful franchise because it's the Kings. They never have award winning regular seasons, but come playoff time as teams get tired and injured the Kings seem to find another gear and dominate. If we got the guy partially responsible for that then I'm stoked

Yup, strength and conditioning was part of their M.O. and he was obviously successful there.

[albertGQ]

Better than what the Oilers did.

They replaced donuts with a veggie tray. Lol

[drewtastic]

Originally Posted by albertGQ

Better than what the Oilers did.

They replaced donuts with a veggie tray. Lol

So did WCW when they signed Hulk Hogan back in the day, and look where it got them!

Oh. Wait...

[Azure]

I wish those of us into stuff like this could get a breakdown of how the strength and conditioning coaches are different from team to team.

Nobody ever complained about Rich Hesketh. Would be interesting to see what the new guy is doing different.

[Loudog]

Holy smokes what a find. Conditioning is so important.

[T@T]

But does he know how to disguise vitamins so they look like skittles?

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Azure

I wish those of us into stuff like this could get a breakdown of how the strength and conditioning coaches are different from team to team.

Nobody ever complained about Rich Hesketh. Would be interesting to see what the new guy is doing different.

This is a good point, did the Flames fire him to hire this guy? What is our guy doing now that is so great? Makes me wonder.

[Dagger]

Originally Posted by Azure

I wish those of us into stuff like this could get a breakdown of how the strength and conditioning coaches are different from team to team.

Nobody ever complained about Rich Hesketh. Would be interesting to see what the new guy is doing different.

It would be equally as interesting to see the level of input the strength and conditioning coach has with NHL coaches with respect to practice intensity. I'm not sure it really makes a difference how good the strength and conditioning coach is if the HC is consistently burning players out.

[Ulrith]

Originally Posted by Gaskal

Feels good knowing that Monahan, Colborne, and Hunter Smith will be developing physically under this man's watch.

As well as Bennett's rehab

[Mofo]