Testing Hockey Players, External Load, and Moving the Needle with Dr. Mal McHugh & Reg Grant

The High Performance Hockey Podcast

In This Episode, You Will Learn:

Analyzing hockey player data for performance and recovery insights

The gaps in sports science and its application today.

Resources + Links:

Check out Anthony’s Masterclass -

The High Performance Hockey Masterclass

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Check out Anthony’s Books

Physical Preparations for Ice Hockey: Biological Principles and Practical Solutions

The Gain, Go, and Grow Manual: Programming for High Performance Hockey Players

Show Notes:

Today we're joined by Dr. Mal McHugh and Reg Grant! Mal is the Director of Research at the Nicholas Institute of Sports Medicine and Athletic Trauma at Lenox Hill Hospital, which is part of the Northwell Health System. Mal is also the Sports Performance Consultant for the National Hockey League. Reg is the Director of Human Performance at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, New Jersey, a former President of the Strength and Conditioning Association of Professional Hockey, and for 17 years served as the Head Strength Conditioning Coach of the New York Rangers, which specializes in leading interdisciplinary health, wellness and athletic performance teams. In this episode, we talk about decades of testing from the Batman and Robin of testing and high performance hockey, Reg on the floor collecting the data and Mal analyzing the data behind the scenes. We also speak about external load and ice hockey, and a research article yet to be published by Mal titled ‘Accelerometer based measurement of physiological and physical intensity in male ice hockey players: An algorithm for quantifying accelerometry data and ice hockey, identifying a reliable g-force profile’. Interesting article, interesting conversation, interesting talk.​​

00:00:00 Welcome back to the show, Dr. Mal McHugh and Reg Grant!

00:02:10 How, where, and with whom did you evolve your data stream?

00:05:10 How did you two start working together?

00:07:50 What were the biggest mistakes you learned from?

00:11:40 What were your aha moments?

00:14:05 Giving context to information to get results.

00:17:45 What are the limitations of measurements?

00:21:00 How did your technology evolve?

00:27:40 What were the biggest insights you made?

00:32:25 What targeted interventions did your data allow you to make?

00:35:00 How Mal analyzes athlete data, athletic performance, and injury risk.

00:38:50 Using accelerometry to measure G-force in ice hockey players.

00:41:40 Analyzing hockey player data for performance and recovery insights.

00:46:55 Is there an ideal G-force profile?

00:49:25 Why do you measure G-force?

00:55:45 What gaps are you seeing in sports science and its application?

01:02:00 Best practices for applying sports science in training environments.

01:06:30 When hiring a sports performance director how do you objectify the position?