CHESTNUT
HILL, Mass.—It’s one thing to play a sport. It’s another to love a sport. But
the true test of character lies within the ability to dedicate mind, body and
soul toward a discipline that will change one’s persona. Forever.
For Boston
College’s Noah Hanifin, who’s the number one ranked defenseman—third prospect
overall among North American skaters—in tonight’s NHL Draft, his bodily fitness
hasn’t simply been just a hobby. It’s become a way of life.
“For me, I’m
growing up in an age where strength and conditioning is very necessary,” says
Hanifin, who became only the second youngest freshman in Boston College history
to sport an Eagles’ hockey jersey. “My working out and physical strength has
always been very important to me—that’s the only way I can use my skill and
hockey ability.”
During this
month’s NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo, N.Y., which included strenuous fitness
components, Hanifin executed his solid conditioning and finished in the top 10
in four tests. Hanifin’s biggest combine challenge—the infamous VO2max bike.
“You’re
wearing an oxygen mask, so you get limited oxygen,” explains Hanifin, who also
captained Team USA to a gold medal at the 2014 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge.
“As you get more tired, you take deeper breaths but you get the same amount of
oxygen. [But] I did bike training that would pattern me up and get me ready for
it.”
Minnesota
Wild center Charlie Coyle attests to Hanifin’s fitness dedication. “I've been
training with Noah for a few years now and he is a worker,” Coyle tells SI.com.
“You can tell how his work ethic in the gym translates to the ice and vice
versa. It doesn't surprise me, at all, how well he did at the combine and his
overall fitness level. He's a special player and has a lot of talent, but he
works for it—that combination is deadly.”
During a
recent cool and rain-soaked afternoon, Hanifin met with SI.com on the campus of
Boston College—just hours before the Chicago Blackhawks captured the Stanley
Cup—to discuss his health and fitness, and its importance toward his craft.
Body fat: 6.1%
Training
grounds: Edge
Performance Systems, Foxborough, Mass.
Typical
offseason workout: Four
days per week—Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
“I get to
the gym about 9:15 a.m., I’ll ride the bike for five minutes, foam roll and do
a dynamic stretching with all the guys.”
“Then, we’ll
go through a pre-workout where we get medicine balls, hockey sticks and bands,
and do all activation [exercises]—warming up our hips and the muscles we’re
going to be utilizing during the workouts; doing a lot of core and quick explosives
just to get us warmed up. [There’s] a lot of agility, like hurdle jumps, to get
our muscles activated before we get into a lift. That takes about 30 minutes.”
“Following
that, we’ll do three sets of mini-band exercises, putting mini-bands around our
knees and doing side lunges. Then, we’ll use a medicine ball and do a hip toss
or seesaws around our back, and hurdle hops.”
“[Next],
we’ll go into a lift. Mondays and Thursday are predominantly upper body.
Tuesdays and Fridays are more specifically lower body, but because we skate a
lot we don’t want to kill our lower body. What we’re big into now is we use a
lot of Keiser machines, which are all air [resistance]—a lot of Keiser squats,
and when we do upper body there’s a lot of Keiser pulls and pushes. I’ve
noticed a huge difference in making myself more explosive on the ice by using
the Keiser machines. … When I do weights, I’m doing hang cleans, single-leg squats
or dumbbell snatches.”
“After we do
a lift, we’ll do conditioning—sled pushes, drags or bike sprints in 30-second
intervals because that’s how long our [hockey] shifts are. We want to train our
bodies to be in that optional condition for 25-30 seconds—it’s all sprinting in
hockey.”
“[Subsequently],
we’ll do a lot of stretching—we’re really big on mobility and being flexible.”
Typical
in-season workout: “I
like to stay very flexible and mobile. Obviously, you have to do some lifts to
maintain your strength—benching, squats, band work for our shoulders and a lot
of plyometric jumps to stay explosive. I like to do a lot of free-body lunges
and stretching. [During the] season you kill your body on the ice, so when
you’re working out it’s to maintain the strength you’ve gained during the
summer.”
Unique exercises: Sled figure eights and single-leg hang cleans. “We’ll do sled pushes but in a big figure eight. That’s brutal. … [For single-leg hang cleans] we’ll use straps and basically go up with one leg, and put one leg back—five reps on each leg. I love it.”
One
exercise most essential for on-ice performance: Hang cleans. “That’s been the number
one thing where I’ve seen improvements in my explosiveness—that translates onto
the ice so well.”
Age he
began a training program and his motivation: “Right as I turned 14. When I was in the
eighth grade at St. Sebastian’s, I played varsity, so I was playing against
kids who were 17, 18, 19 years old and I was 13. So, the biggest issue was
going to be my physical strength playing against kids who are a lot older than
me. That’s when I met Brian [McDonough], the guy I train with now. From that
point on, I became close with Brian and I’ve gotten stronger and stronger.”
Evolution
of his body: “I’ve
gotten a lot bigger—I’m getting older, taller and heavier. But at the same
time, my trainer has always realized what age I was and he’s specifically
trained me for what I need to be working on at that age. When I was 14, I
wasn’t doing a lot of lifting—I was doing a lot of non-weight [exercises],
mobility and core work, and getting used to my body. Now, I’m doing a lot more
lifting and Olympic exercises to get more explosive—I’m at that age where I can
definitely do that.”
Comparison
to other athletes his age, in regard to progress: “I think I’m probably strong for my age.
A lot of that is because of where I train. When I was 15, I started training
with the pro group—Charlie Coyle, Brian Boyle, Rob Gronkowski. When I had that
experience it really pushed me just by being around those guys and seeing how
they workout. So, I think I’m ahead of the curve because of the experience I
have training with pro athletes.”
Favorite
workout music: “I love
to listen to music when I workout, mainly rock and roll—AC/DC.”
Favorite
leisure activity: Golf.
“You want to basically be doing something every day. On the weekends you just
don’t want to sit around and not do anything—that’s actually worse for your
body. You want to stay active, whether it’s going for a light jog or walk. For
me, I love to golf on the weekends because it keeps me real active.”
Thoughts
on eating right in college: “It’s so hard, but for me it’s a routine, it’s a habit. I like
to eat the same every single day because I’m big into having a routine and
getting the same amount of calories. In college it’s tough, but it’s definitely
something that’s very important to me.”
Favorite
pregame meal: Chicken
parmesan, salad and vegetables (green beans, peppers, asparagus). “I had
asparagus one time before a game and played really well, so before every game I
have to have it or else I’ll freak out.”
Guilty
pleasure: Chipotle. “I
absolutely love that place.”
NHL
fitness idol: Charlie
Coyle. “He’s an absolute freak of nature in the gym—there’s no one even on his
level. He’s just so disciplined, he works so hard, he’s so dialed-in and
focused. He eats extremely well and doesn’t drink alcohol. He’s someone that,
for me, when I’m in the NHL, I want to have that same work ethic and
discipline—I’m trying to develop that now. I think in order to be a successful
athlete, that’s the stuff we’re talking about.”
Advice to
amateur athletes looking to make the pros: “Don’t rush—a lot of people want to start lifting when
they’re young but I think that’s more important when you’re 17, 18 years old.
The most important thing as a young kid coming up and wanting to be a pro
athlete is all habits—nutrition, eating well, getting your sleep and taking
care of your body. When you get into the gym and you’re training and lifting,
if you can have [those] as a backup, you’re going to be golden.”