First "Athlete" in the NHL

James Walker

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
233
154
I also remember his teammates joking about his habit of eating cookies.

Here is one of several examples:



Well, either Phaneuf is a complete jerk, or they are just joking around.

Anyway, Kessel's medication did cause him to look puffy.
Medications have side effects.
 

Cruor

Registered User
May 12, 2012
799
94
For what it's worth I remember Forsberg saying that the first time he noticed a six-pack on a teammate/opponent was around 1996.
 

Nerowoy nora tolad

Registered User
May 9, 2018
1,403
652
Gladstone, Australia
Part of what makes this difficult to answer is that a lot of early-era players would spend their offseasons doing things like farming which naturally condition the body to be ready for athletic performance. So from their point of view, they were getting ready for the season every day.

Also, for the first 20-30 years of the 20th century the rinks simply closed in the summertime. Players dispersed and didn't come back to the rink until the fall, not because they didn't value training time but because there was no ice to had.

If we're looking for someone who skated year-round and took a scientific approach to nutrition and body conditioning, we're probably looking at the relatively modern era. I would think at least 1950s if not 60s.
And theres a not insignificant number of qualified hockey people who think that state of affairs with summer hockey is a much bigger negative than a positive.

Its also interesting to consider if that trend towards off-season camps & summer hockey might be part of why baseball hasnt really gotten a foothold in Canadian sports. If anything it seems to me like my grandparents generation would have been much more likely to play baseball in Canada than in more recent times
 
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Iapyi

Registered User
Apr 19, 2017
5,072
2,361
Canadian Prairies
The first player to immediately come to mind is Dan Bain. The guy was a champion at pretty much everything — roller skating, gymnastics, cycling, lacrosse, curling, snowshoeing, hockey — probably a bunch more. I’m not aware of any particular training regimen he followed, but I can’t believe he didn’t have one. Competed for titles in a bunch of sports into his mid-50s.

To further on Don Bain and from one of my hockey history books :

- never played professional hockey but did play on 2 Stanley Cup Champions, Winnipeg Victorias 1895-96 and 1900-01
- won championships in various sports over 35 years
- won the 3-mile roller skating first
- champion gymnast of Winnipeg at age 17
- one-mile bicycling racing champion for 3 years 1894-1996
- turned to rifle shooting after hockey capturing the Canadian trap-shooting title
- won championships well into his mid-50's in speed-skating, roller skating, snow-shoeing, lacrosse, and golf
 
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