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26 year snapshot of Canadian NHL team
New NRC Research Press paper shows that overall size and fitness levels of players in all positions has improved significantly over 26 seasons
Ottawa, ON, August 7, 2008 – Imagine taking a yearly picture of your favourite sports team every year for a generation. Looking back over a quarter of a century, what would you see? A group of researchers from the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation from the University of Alberta in Edmonton did just this in a newly published paper appearing in Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism
The team of researchers studied 703 players from a Canadian-based NHL team from 1979 to 2005. The physiological profile derived from their research shows that over the 26 seasons, defensemen got taller and heavier, forwards got younger and had higher peak outputs for cardio-respiratory endurance (vo2 Peak ) while goalies got shorter, more flexible and had lower peak outputs when it came to their vo2 Peak. Their study also showed that the overall pre-season fitness profile was not related to team performance.
Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism regularly publishes original research articles, reviews and commentaries focusing on the application of physiology, nutrition and metabolism to the study of human health, physical activity and fitness.
Read the article: A 26 year physiological description of a National Hockey League team. H.A. Quinney, Randy Dewart, Alex Game, Gary Snydmiller, Darren Warburton and Gordon Bell
About the National Research Council Canada
NRC operates world-class research facilities as well as information, technology and innovation support networks from coast to coast.
As Canada's national science library and largest scientific and technical publisher, NRC-CISTI is Canada's gateway to global digital STM information. Through its NRC Research Press program, it publishes 16 peer-reviewed journal titles as well as a growing number of affiliated journals in the areas of science, engineering and health as well as monographs and conference proceedings. For a full list of their publications, visit the NRC Research Press Web site.
