Convexity in Ice Hockey Training
Convexity and its evil twin concavity were both taught to me at an early age. Although not explicitly. Instead, my father taught me about long term payoff. “It is the little things that make something great” he said. What this means is that a little bit of effort can go a long way. This is the layman’s definition of convexity. It is a situation where you can improve a small bit in a little area of your life (hockey game, education, relationships, etc.) and their can be huge payoff. People in the financial markets use this strategy to harness volatility. My question is why wouldn’t you make a slight change if you could?
As most readers know about the Xenopucks channel, we discuss off ice pucks. I endeavor to stay on that train, as the Xenopuck can change your game, but convexity is a framework that can be used across many domains.
For the Xenopuck… It is exactly 6oz in weight. This matters because of convexity. Plain and simple, let us take a step back and do some small calculations. The official NHL puck weighs 6oz and this tiny compared to everything else you wear and use, including the stick. The best sticks alone weigh 13 oz or so. So, when looking at off ice pucks we want something that is going to be the same weight, because seemingly minor differences have a huge impact.
If you know you know, this is what people say about the Xenopuck. If you try a Xenopuck next to any other brand, then you notice the Xenos realism immediately. The reason is convexity. A small difference in material, weight, and dimension makes a tremendous impact and the Xenopuck emerges as far superior. The normal people call it the best puck especially for the reason that it feels so gosh darn real!!!
Now enough with the anecdotes, let’s make this a bit more rigorous. If, Xenopucks equal 6oz, and competitors equal 5.5. Then the difference is .5, which you divide by 6, and the percent difference is 8.3%. That may seem small, but it is misleading due to convexity. Think about shooting a puck 25 feet. The puck itself is only 3” in diameter and when shooting you are talking about angles. So, if your angle is off only a small bit, you miss the net completely. Any hockey player knows this is the case.
This leaves us with the obvious axiom that (at least in hockey) trivial differences lead to tremendous changes. Your training program needs to take advantage of our natural body’s instinct towards adaptation. Instead of doing a static workout with weights, do something that is dynamic, and you have not tried before. This will teach your muscles in a different manner than before. Why is this important?
Anyone watching this years 2026 finals will remember the game four third period game winning goal by Jordan Staal where he was almost lying flat on his belly! If you haven’t seen it, then you must check it out. Video
His dexterity allowed for him to perform a miraculous feat of hockey. I remember thinking at the time that it reminds me of lacrosse players. The way they find angles and shift their bodies. Staal was truly incredible during the playoffs, and I am not sure he played lacrosse, but he would’ve been a beast there too.
It turns out that hockey players benefit a lot from other sports and activities. When in juniors we used to do yoga, play soccer, go hiking, and played a bunch of football. This was encouraged not just for the fun, but also for its physical benefits. Xenopucks calls this cross training. Anecdotally like off ice hockey training with the Xenopuck. Not because they both involve training, but rather because of the benefits of doing new exercises with your body. An example, I have played hockey a long time, and totally love the game. I could play every day and do it all the time. Just so much fun. However, when I got into college, I found another sport of interest: Soccer (futbol). Strange, but it is what it is. I am not built for it, but your body adapts, and man is soccer different than hockey. For one thing, it is on the ground, and this ground puts serious strain on your joints. Hockey is surprisingly light to the knees/back. Another major difference is the Sprint vs. Sprint/Jog/Walk/Relax. Hockey the former and soccer the latter. Soccer is a mixture of all four, and it changes how you dish out your energy. While you may not think this applies to hockey you would be wrong. What it taught me is that you should be able to take advantage of the difference in speed (the rate of change).
Why is Connor McDavid able to blow by the best defensemen in the world? The American sports fan would say “Speed, duh.” A hockey player would say “No, it is the acceleration.” Einstein would say the “Acceleration, relative to the defensemen.” Change in speed relative to the other player is what is important. McDavid doesn’t just have high end top speed, but he has the ability to get up to that speed extremely quickly. During a 1:1, a defenseman must always try to match the momentum of the offensive player. If this doesn’t happen then offense can blow right past them.
Anyways playing soccer taught me to regulate my speed and take advantage of this. Playing other sports is a fantastic way of increasing your hockey skill. It is a natural and fun way to harness the convexity of your body.
At the end of the day, you must know your objective and work towards achievement. Incorporating convexity into your training will help you achieve that which you want to achieve. Become combat ready as we have stated before.
As always spend 5 minutes a day stickhandling or doing something hockey related. You will thank yourself later. Until next time…
Written By:
Carter LaVigne