Heading into your draft year is both exciting and nerve-wracking for a prospect, which is why most top player agencies hold development camps for their young clients. This week, Newport Sports (which represents Steven Stamkos, Drew Doughty and P.K. Subban, plus many others) held its camp in Toronto and as with many things in life, technology is playing a bigger role than ever.
Thanks to a partnership with Apple, Newport provided each camper with an Apple Watch, while all the instructors, from training guru Gary Roberts and former NHL goalie Pascal Leclaire to top skating coaches Dawn Braid and Tracy Tutton, used iPads during their sessions.
“The integration of technology in our camp is very important,” said Newport agent Wade Arnott. “The athlete has the watch, which records their test results, both at the training sessions with Gary Roberts and the on-ice/off-ice combine tests. And it allows all our guest speakers to follow up – they’re sending all their information through the watch.”
Given how plugged in this generation is, using the tech to get real-time feedback was welcomed by the kids, the majority of whom are up for the 2019 draft.
“It gives you everything with the cardio,” said Halifax Mooseheads center Xavier Parent. “When we run or do training, you can see how many calories you lost, so it’s nice.”
Since Newport Next has been running for a couple years, the agency can also show this year’s campers how they stacked up on draft combine tests compared to previous participants such as Rasmus Dahlin, Matthew Tkachuk and Owen Tippett.
With the iPads, lessons can be taught much more effectively on the ice, since the feedback is instant.
“It’s a great tool,” Leclaire said. “Especially with goalie drills, you go through the motion and you try to explain it. It’s really efficient, where kids can see their good stuff and their mistakes right away, so it’s easier to fix. Let’s say we want to bring a goalie’s shoulder higher because he’s getting beat top-net. When you play, if you don’t see it, you feel it’s normal. When you see it, it helps quite a bit.”
For skating experts Braid and Tutton, they break down a player’s stride forward, backward and in regards to sideways agility on the ice using the iPads. Between the watches and most players already having iPhones, the instructors can follow up later on, giving feedback through FaceTime or sending videos to the kids when they’re back with their teams.
Along with the tech, another advantage of the camp is simply getting all these top-end kids together in one place. Many of them know each other already from international play, particularly the World Under-17 Challenge; but now they’re all on the same team. There’s a lot of camaraderie and of course some healthy competition.
“It’s nice to compare yourself to other players around the world,” said Djurgarden’s Alex Holtz, a top prospect for the 2020 draft. “It’s fantastic to be here with kids from Canada, Slovakia and the U.S.”
Along with the on-ice sessions and off-ice workouts, the kids saw presentations from NHL scouts on what they look for during a game, and media training at TSN. At night, they’d have group outings to a Toronto Blue Jays baseball game or an escape room challenge.
Everyone gets a little something different out of the camp and according to Arnott, that’s the goal: to give the youngsters all the information they need, with the assumption that they’ll retain several good lessons to help them in their upcoming season. For Medicine Hat Tigers right winger Josh Williams, Roberts made a good impression.
“Definitely the nutrition,” Williams said. “He says that’s what separates players: everyone can skate, everybody works out, but not everybody does the food part.”
Armed with lessons – and now, Apple watches – the kids will head back home and prepare for the upcoming season, where the spotlight will be a little bit hotter now that most are in their draft year. We practically couldn’t be further on the calendar from the 2019 draft in Vancouver, but if you’re one of those kids eligible, it’s likely not hard to be excited already.
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