Physical Performance and the Relationship to Game Performance in Elite Adolescent Ice Hockey

Abstract

Determining performance indicators within team sports is considerably important as it facilitates the underlying training methodologies of sports performance. The value of understanding individual contribution and the relevant physical factors is of importance when structuring appropriate strength and conditioning training. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyse the relationships between physical performance and game performance, as well as examining the relationships of physical performance and game performance dependent on competition level. This research project was a case study conducted with a team’s game performance measured across a full season. Twelve elite adolescent male ice hockey players (17.92 ± 0.9 years, 185 ± 8.45 cm, 83.17 ± 8.61 kg) participated in the study after giving informed consent. Physical performance was measured using four tests (horizontal jump, single-leg lateral jump, 15-meter sprint, corner S test), while game performance was calculated through the statistical equation Point Shares. Statistical significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Physical performance did not depict any strong indications of overall game performance. Instead, results illustrated an inverse relationship between plyometric performance and offensive point shares. However, on-ice agility may be a relevant indicator of game performance dependent on competition level for individuals and sub-groups. Thus, the findings suggest that explaining individual performance within team sports is a highly complex issue that needs further investigation.

Associations between Testing and Game Performance in Ice Hockey: A Scoping Review

“…Of the 2364 papers gathered from the search strategy, 259 abstracts and titles (11%) met our inclusion criteria (see Figure 1 ). After the full-text reading stage of our scoping review, the list of articles was considerably shortened to include 17 peer-reviewed articles retained for further analysis [ 9 , 21 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 ]. Of these 17 studies, 15 (88%) employed a cross-sectional design and two (12%) were case control studies.…”

“…Seven studies (41%) combined both on-ice and off-ice tests in their designs [ 21 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 ], eight (47%) included off-ice testing only [ 9 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 ], and two study (12%) [ 46 , 47 ] on-ice testing only. In off-ice fitness testing ( Table 1 ), resistance-based tests (e.g., musculoskeletal assessments) predominated and were used in 7 out of the 15 studies [ 9 , 21 , 33 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] (46%).…”

“…In off-ice fitness testing ( Table 1 ), resistance-based tests (e.g., musculoskeletal assessments) predominated and were used in 7 out of the 15 studies [ 9 , 21 , 33 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ] (46%). Twelves studies (80%) used plyometrics, jump or sprint tests [ 9 , 21 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 47 ]. Anaerobic testing was reported in nine (60%) studies [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 45 , 46 ], and the Wingate test was the most frequently used.…”

“…Twelves studies (80%) used plyometrics, jump or sprint tests [ 9 , 21 , 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 47 ]. Anaerobic testing was reported in nine (60%) studies [ 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 41 , 45 , 46 ], and the Wingate test was the most frequently used. Aerobic tests were less frequent and used mainly with the treadmill, ergocycle and Léger 20 m shuttle tests [ 21 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 40 , 45 , 47 ].…”

“…Advanced or more game-related metrics were also used in six studies (35%) [21,36,37,41,43,47]. Finally, other metrics related to talent identification were used in nine studies (53%) [9,34,35,38,40,42,[44][45][46] 1 presents an overview of studies connecting off-ice test results and hockey performance. Of the seven studies that include resistance-based tests (44%), six report a positive relationship.…”