In-season variation of skating load at different playing positions in male elite ice hockey: a single season longitudinal study

Kuvaus:

Balance between recovery and the load in high-intensity sport such as ice hockey is the key to best possible performance. Previous studies in ice hockey as well as studies from other high-intensity team sports suggest that players´ performance decreases toward the end of the season. The aim of this study was to examine if the sport specific external load would change towards the end of competitive season in ice hockey. In addition, the purpose of this study was to compare skating loads during the in-season between three different playing positions: centers, wingers, and defensemen. Previous studies have not examined the effect of playing position so extensively. The study subjects were total of 146 male Finnish elite league ice hockey players from total of 9 teams. This study contained players skating data from total of 372 matches which were played during the regular season of 2019-2020. As a conclusion, full competitive season of ice hockey seems to impair the players´ ability to perform prolonged accelerations and decelerations. However, the decrease of performance towards the end of the season is not visible in any other skating variables. Different season phases did not affect skating load playing position specifically. This study clearly indicates that forwards cannot be grouped as a one playing position, since centers skate with higher intensities, both in time and in distance, than wingers.