Olympic figure skater focussed on helping Stars prospects reach top speed

FRISCO, Texas — Speed reigns in today’s NHL.

In an era where the Pittsburgh Penguins have raced to back-to-back championships, it’s all about skating and quickness. Defenders are expected to move the puck, forwards need to have top-end speed, and slower players tend to get left behind.

It’s the reason that players with so-called first-round talent have dropped into the second and third round in recent drafts — they weren’t good enough skaters.

And skating is a point of emphasis at the Dallas Stars development camp this week. When on-ice sessions opened on Saturday prospects spent extended time working on basics and foundation of a proper stance. It seemed elementary to the naked eye, but it’s a valuable piece to an NHL future.

“When you get to this level a five percent difference in power and speed is an eternity,” Todd Eldredge said. “So getting these guys to understand where that balance needs to be. Where you can get that power from, that’s kind of the biggest thing.”

Eldredge isn’t a hockey player, but he knows all about speed and balance.

A three-time Olympian and the 1996 World Champion in men’s figure skating, Eldredge is putting the Stars prospects through the paces during development camp. He’s worked with hockey players before, and the prospects in Frisco have responded well to his training.

“You can kind of watch the body language of the guys, they were pretty enthusiastic about it,” Stars conditioning coach JJ McQueen said. “We plan to get him out there 15 to 20 minutes each day we’re here. If a kid can pick up even one thing they’ll be better for it.”

McQueen approached Eldredge “three or four months ago” about working with prospects, and the 45-year-old who lives in Frisco was excited for the opportunity. He’s running the prospects through drills that are similar to some of his figure skating exercises, with some slight modifications.

“Skating is skating, whether it’s for hockey or it’s for figure skating,” Eldredge said. “Different drills and different skills in some ways, but the overall concepts are pretty much the same thing. Getting your balance for power and speed, and that’s what we need for figure skating and that’s what we need for these guys.”

Technique is an area of focus for Eldredge, who said the Stars have several big skaters that can better use their frame to generate more power and speed into their stride.

“If you’re able to use the entire length of your legs, especially some of these guys that are huge, you’ve got so much power there and so much untapped power if you’re not using it,” Eldredge said. “That’s kind of the biggest thing that I’ve tried to emphasize to some of the bigger players I’ve worked with. If you get down and use that little extra, you’ll be one step ahead of the next guy and one step ahead to the puck and winning the races.”

And as a franchise that’s what the Stars want to embody. While defense will be more important this season under Ken Hitchcock, speed is still the future of the NHL.