http://www.nugget.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=1609149
Former Trappers spend summer shaping up for 2009-10 season
Posted By Jordan Ercit The Nugget
Updated 3 hours ago
It wasn't long ago that Nick Huard realized his carefree summers were about to change.
Three summers ago, before the 18-year-old forward for the QMJHL's Lewiston Maineiacs was about to enter his first season of midget 'AAA' hockey with the North Bay Trappers, Huard knew he would no longer be able to just kick back with his buddies and savour the blissful, school-free months by doing absolutely nothing.
Not if he wanted to play hockey at the highest level.
"As a kid, I just spent my summers having fun," he said before a workout session at Elitehockey.net. "But ever since I had this opportunity to play major junior and knowing I maybe have a chance to get to the next level, then you really have got to take advantage of the summers and get stronger.
"(It's pretty much like a full-time job in the summer), you just don't get paid. But I don't have any problems with that. I love the game and I love trying to make myself better . . . If it helps me get there (towards his goals), I have no problem at all."
Huard will spend the rest of the summer pushing his body to the limit with current and former junior hockey players, aiming to improve his core strength and increase his physical abilities before he returning to Lewiston, Me., in August for his second season of major junior hockey.
But Huard isn't the only one breaking a sweat with their sights already on next season. Two of his workout partners - Marc and Joel Senecal - are also looking forward to taking their hockey careers to the next level when the summer months begin to wane in August.
Marc, who wrapped up his three-year junior career in March with the OJHL's Wellington Dukes, is preparing for his first season of NCAA Division I hockey at Brown University, while his cousin, Joel, is using the summer to gear up for training camp and a potential return to major junior hockey with the OHL's Peterborough Petes.
For Marc, his plate is already heaping thanks to a menu of strength and skill training before he heads out east to begin his post-junior hockey career in Providence, RI. On top of workouts at Elitehockey.net with former NHLer Darren Turcotte, he will be training with longtime weightlifting coach Larry Sheppard and skating guru Dan Selin.
"I never thought I would be this busy in the summer," said Marc, who is also trying to fit in the odd summer job along the way over the next couple months. "But I have Dan (Selin), Turk (Darren Turcotte) and Shep (Larry Sheppard) around to make sure I don't burn out, so it's been pretty good so far."
Like Huard, though, Marc Senecal said the lack of downtime is a worthwhile price to pay. Because of his hard work from summers past, he'll be able to play the game he loves while pursuing a college degree at an Ivy League school.
"It's really exciting and it's because I have a lot of people helping me out," he said.
Players like Senecal also have a lot more at their disposal these days, including facilities like Elitehockey.net and the combination of off-ice and on-ice workouts that the site on Wallace Road incorporates with its training regimen.
It's something that Turcotte, who played 635 NHL games with the New York Rangers, Hartford, Winnipeg, San Jose, St. Louis and Nashville, was unable to take advantage of when he finished his junior hockey career with the North Bay Centennials.
"When I was playing, this was all foreign," said Turcotte, an instructor at Elitehockey.net. "This is a whole new thing and there are so many guys now that are training with things like exercise balls. It helps increase your (core) strength, and in hockey, your core is so important."
Core strength, agility, speed.
It's a fine line between making it to the next level or not, Joel Senecal said.
"In major junior, you have to be in top shape," said Senecal, who spent the 2007-08 season with the QMJHL's Drummondville Voltigeurs and the Val d'Or Foreurs and attended the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds rookie camp last month.
"I've been doing this (training in the summer) for a while now and it pays off."
Here's another story.
