Do you, or someone you know, play hockey? If so, have you ever wondered what characteristics the top players share? If you put a number of hockey players through a battery of tests which ones would the top hockey players excel at?This would be important information to have if you were a hockey player. You could see what the top players all do well. Next you could get an assessment done to see how you rank in these areas. Finally you could have a top level strength coach design and coach you through an effective program to develop these abilities as well.A recent study in the Journal of Strength & Conditioning Research compared three groups of hockey players with respect to the their anthropometric measures, dryland and on-ice testing. 45 players at either the  D1, D3 or junior elite level of hockey participated in the study.These players were assessed on-ice for their top end speed as well as a repeat shift test. Off-ice looked at their vertical jump, Wingate test, grip strength and skate treadmill VO2max.Here's what they found.First of all, D1 players typically had lower levels of bodyfat than D3 players. So if you are a young player that has had success in the past but has poor nutritional know that this will catch up with you. You cannot get the majority of your calories through a window and maintain a lean body mass.Secondly they found there was no significant difference between the groups in terms of the aerobic capacity of the players. Whether the player was at the D1, D3 or elite level of junior did not make much of a difference on their VO2max.However what they did find was that D1 and elite junior players had better anaerobic fitness, vertical jump, Wingate performance, grip strength, top speed and repeat...