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Rule changes favor speed and coaches who teach it

Dan Jansen left international speedskating in 1994, finally having reached the top of the Olympic medal stand after years of frustration. At the same time, the swiftest skaters in the NHL were beginning to voice their frustrations about the prevalence of clutching and grabbing and about officiating that seemed to favor physicality to speed.

Eleven years later, in an effort to revive a long-lacking sense of pace on the ice, NHL rules changes have essentially freed the speed. Not by coincidence, Jansen has followed.

In August, the Chicago Blackhawks hired Jansen as their skating coach. The organization is looking to assimilate the training tactics that made Jansen one of the fastest skaters in his sport's history.

"My knowledge is not in hockey; my knowledge is in speedskating," Jansen said in a telephone interview. "It's amazing that, even more so now with the new rules, maybe it's been overlooked. I've learned from being around the guys that they learn to handle the puck and to shoot, but nobody ever really teaches them how to skate. It's just assumed."

Several years ago, Jansen met Dale Tallon, a hockey executive, at a golf tournament. They struck up a friendship and agreed at the time that players might be overlooking some of the fundamentals that could increase skating speed.

looking for an edge

Tallon was named general manager of the Blackhawks in June, and even amid the rushed off-season -- which was shortened because of the labor issues that canceled the 2004-2005 season -- Jansen was one of the first contacts he made.

"I just was convinced from talking to Dan that this could be something we could do to give our players an edge," Tallon said. "It's a new game with the rules changes. I think having Dan work with the guys, especially all the young players, is an approach that can help us. We'll take whatever edge we can get at this point."

Jansen, a 40-year-old native of Wisconsin, was a dominant speedskater, but his career was punctuated by notable Olympic failures. At the 1988 Calgary Games, he learned that his older sister Jane had died of leukemia. He went on to fall twice, in the 500m and 1,000m races, leaving him without a medal in events he had been favored to win. He also failed to win a medal in 1992 in Albertville, France.

All told, Jansen was a member of four US Olympic teams, and he finally won a gold medal in the 1,000m in 1994 at the Lillehammer Games. What is often forgotten is that he was an eight-time world-record holder, the winner of 46 World Cup races and the recipient of more than 75 World Cup medals. He dominated his sport for nearly 10 years.

Blackhawks coach Trent Yawney said he hoped Jansen's experience would have an impact on his team.

class act

"We have a really young team," Yawney said. "So aside from the fact that adding these fundamentals that can help with their speed could be real important for the guys, you have them working with a world champion at the Olympic level, and you want that attitude and pedigree as a part of the organization."

Much of the speed training that Jansen brings to the Blackhawks is foreign to the players, and it often takes them away from the ice.

"It's different stuff," forward Mikael Holmqvist said. "He's got us jumping off boxes a lot and trying to strengthen muscles that we're not used to working."

Jansen's workout regimen involves considerable off-ice training designed to increase explosiveness and power in the legs, not necessarily fluidity on the ice.

"There are definitely some things they're not used to," Jansen said. "But to that extent, I think it's advantageous, and the guys enjoy trying out new things. I was trained in speed, and that's what I'm going to bring to them."

By NHL standards, Chicago is considered a fast team. Youth has much to do with that; the team routinely plays as many as seven rookies. Jansen, the players and the Blackhawks officials said it would take more time for the training techniques to affect on-ice play.

The team has struggled to a 13-18-3 record and third place in the Western Conference's Central Division.

"I just don't think you can measure things until we get some serious time and begin developing the muscle memory and habits that can change on-ice performance," Jansen said.

He trains players throughout the Blackhawks system, traveling to Norfolk, Virginia, to work with the American Hockey League affiliate there. He is planning to spend the entire training camp with the NHL team next summer.

Tallon said he was not sure if skating coaches would become common in the NHL.

"A lot of this stuff will take a year or two or three to really pay off," he said. "But we're a really young team, and changing the habits of these guys at this stage can affect an organization."

Jansen said he planned to have greater involvement with the team in the next year, adding to a growing list of responsibilities. He owns an athletic rehabilitation business in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he lives with his wife, Karen, and their two daughters. At the Olympics in February in Turin, Italy, he will return to the broadcasting role he has filled at past Winter Games.

"I think I could have been a pretty good hockey player," Jansen said. "Or at least a fast one."
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