<h1><span lang=""style="font-size:35pt;">Getting the off-ice edge</span></h1>

PSI program aims to help elite players reach their goals

By Darren Steinke
Gordie Howe Sports Complex

Kevin Korchinski lifts weights at a PSI training session.

The “who is who” of hockey players seemingly in Saskatoon and area are on the Gordie Howe Sports Complex grounds.

If you pass through the second floor of the Indoor Training Centre at the Complex at the right time mainly in the morning hours between Monday to Thursday in the spring and summer months, you will encounter athletes hard at work taking part in the off-ice programs overseen by PSI Hockey Training. Some of the players who are putting in the strength and conditioning work to prepare for their upcoming seasons include NHLers Kevin Korchinski and Connor Zary.

Also taking part in PSI sessions are WHL players who have been either drafted or signed by NHL teams in Berkly Catton, Noah Chadwick, Riley Heidt, Caden Price, Tarin Smith and Brayden Yager.

The PSI Hockey Training program came into existence about two years ago when Pro Sport Rehab and Fitness partnered with Ignite Athletics due to the fact both have a lot of commonalities when it comes to training players. 

Ignite Athletics is based on the second floor of the Indoor Training Centre. The PSI program is overseen by Blaine Whyte, who is a founder of Pro Sport Rehab and Fitness and the strength and conditioning coach of the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades, and Josh Saulnier, who is a co-owner and strength and conditioning coach with Ignite Athletics.

It is run out of the Indoor Training Centre from about the middle of April through to about the end of August, and it is open to ringette players too. Saulnier said the joint venture between Pro Sport and Ignite has produced a great space for hockey players to get to the next level.

“I would say kind of like a big turning point for our program is when we partnered with Pro Sport,” said Saulnier. “We brought it together, and it’s all under one roof here.

Kevin Korchinski in action with the Thunderbirds in 2023.

“It’s making a big difference, because we have not only more athletes, but we have more coaches that are experienced and have knowledge in all of these training principles as well. It’s just a better atmosphere, a better vibe when you have a bigger group of WHL guys, and you’ve got the elite of the elite that are from Saskatoon. It just makes for a better training experience for all the athletes in the groups, but it is also more enjoyable for coaches.

“You’re dealing with athletes that they can see themselves getting to that next spot even if it’s a 16-year-old making a WHL team or a WHL player making it to the AHL. When you’re dealing with those kinds of athletes and you don’t have to really work hard to get a buy in from them, it just creates a really good atmosphere for training, for the coaches involved and for the athletes involved.”

The motivated and upbeat atmosphere was noticed by Korchinski, who rejoined the PSI sessions this summer after spending his rookie NHL season with the Chicago Blackhawks. Between playing with the Blackhawks and for three seasons with the WHL’s Seattle Thunderbirds before making the NHL, Korchinski has played against a number of the players he trains with.

He also played with and against a number of those same players growing up in Saskatoon. Korchinski said training with PSI helps renew a built-in bond with all the athletes involved.

“It is kind of getting back with all your buddies,” said Korchinski. “It’s awesome.

Brayden Yager smiles during a PSI training session.

“Obviously, having guys that want to be here, want to get better, want to push each other and want the best for each other, that’s who you got to surround yourself with. Those are the people that you want to be hanging around with in the summer. Obviously, we push each other at the same time.

“We do have fun, and it’s never a job or never forcing yourself to have to come to the gym. You want to, and it’s fun. You get to spend time with your friends and push each other and kind of get most out of the day.”

PSI Hockey Training has sessions for players aged 15-and-under, 18-and-under, in junior, in college and professional, under-18 all-female and all-female college and junior. Sessions usually include anywhere between eight to 10 players.

“The program itself we just have a structure where we run sessions for two hours,” said Saulnier. “We have a kind of a bigger emphasis on a lot of the speed and power development.

“That takes up maybe 45 minutes to an hour. Then, we’ll obviously do some strength training in the weight room. We work on some mobility and recovery kind of strategies as well.”

Saulnier said the coaches in the PSI program will change things up for individual players who have a trimmed down off-season due to the fact they were playing on a team that went on a long playoff run. Players skating in a junior league like the WHL or professional circuits like the AHL or NHL could be playing post-season games in May or even into June.

Yager, who is a skilled centre, didn’t start taking part in PSI sessions until early June due to the fact he was playing this past season with the Moose Jaw Warriors. He played a key role in helping the Warriors win their first WHL championship and advance to the semifinal game of the Memorial Cup tournament, which crowns a CHL champion.

Brayden Yager enjoys a WHL title win this past May.

The Warriors hit the ice for the final time on May 31 at the DOW Event Center in Saginaw, Michigan, falling to the host Spirit, who would advance on to win the Memorial Cup championship game two days later.

Saulnier said a player who is relatively young like Yager at age 19 might not need as much time to recover and might be able jump into higher intensity training in a quick time frame. When it comes to a professional player that just finished playing the Stanley Cup final and is over the age of 30, there will be more time spent on recovery in that case.

“A lot of these guys if they’re going that far in the playoffs, especially in the NHL now with the season being so long, then that off-season part becomes a little bit trickier, because you don’t really want to push them super hard, obviously,” said Saulnier. “There is a time and a place after you’ve allowed their bodies to recover and kind of work on some postural issues or whatever that they’re dealing with.

“There are a lot of these guys that have nagging little injuries or whatever coming from the season too. It just depends on where they’re at, how they’re feeling and if they’re ready to go. Then, we can go a bit more.

“We don’t want to push them too hard right off the bat.”

Korchinski has enjoyed the fact he has gotten high-level off-ice training in the off-season at home in Saskatoon. He said the Indoor Training Centre has been a first-class place where players have been able to get their off-ice training in. He added the coaches with PSI Hockey Training have been outstanding.

Connor Zary takes part in a PSI training session.

The skilled offensive-defenceman said the training he received with the PSI program played a big part in helping him make the Blackhawks last season as a 19-year-old rookie.

Korchinski was also dealing with a compressed off-season in 2023 leading up to making the Blackhawks after playing with the Thunderbirds when they won the WHL championship and appeared in the Memorial Cup.

“Obviously, you’re just getting your body ready and making sure it’s in the best shape it can be in,” said Korchinski, who turned 20-years-old in June. “It’s huge that once camp hits you feel in shape.

“You feel like you can go to fitness testing and do well, do your best, push yourself and just on the ice feel good, feel confident. At the end of the day, that’s what is most important is feeling confident on the ice. Being able to put in the work now and knowing that you had a good summer training and didn’t kind of waste the days heading into camp, it’s huge.”

Saulnier said experience plays a part when it came to developing the PSI program. He has now trained hockey players through about 10 to 12 off-seasons, and Whyte has been training hockey players for over 30 years. Saulnier said the staff with the PSI program has a pretty good pulse regarding what works and what doesn’t.

Overall, Saulnier said the most rewarding aspect of working with the players is getting to know them and seeing where their life journeys take them in and outside the game.

“They’re all motivated young kids that are excited about what they’re doing,” said Saulnier. “All the kids that I deal with all have great attitudes.

Riley Heidt does pull-ups at a PSI training session.

“They’re all positive. They all work hard. Getting to know them and getting to see them move forward with their hockey careers, but then also seeing what they end up doing after hockey if hockey doesn’t end up being the thing for them, I think that’s rewarding too.

“Getting to see these young men grow up a little bit in the program, I would say that’s probably the most rewarding thing.”

For more information about PSI Hockey Training, check out its page on the Ignite Athletics website at igniteathletics.com/psi-hockey-training. All photos of players training at Ignite Athletics come courtesy Matt Johnson and Ignite Athletics.