Training Log: It’s A Long Road
- Day 31
Filed Under (Training) by admin on 06-02-2010
Tagged Under : Andrew Raycroft, Boston Bruins, It's A Long Road, Vancouver Canucks
TODAY’S TRAINING INSPIRATION:
ANDREW RAYCROFT
Today’s Colin Timberlake Training Inspiration is a man whose NHL career began with an enormous impact, but whose role on the team now is the role most of us face in our gym and fitness battles: training and practice.
Andrew Raycroft emerged into the NHL with the Boston Bruins in the 2000-01 season, but had played so few games that he was still a rookie in 2003-04, when he became the team’s starting goaltender and won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year by earning 29 victories, 3 shutouts and a 2.05 goals against average in 57 games.
Two years later, Raycroft would become one of the league’s biggest workhorse goalies, playing in 72 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs and setting a career high with 37 wins, placing him among the league leaders in the category.
After a brief stop in Colorado, Raycroft now finds himself the backup goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks, and in a supporting role to possibly the biggest workhorse goalie of them all, Roberto Luongo. On a team with Luongo, the backup plays 10 games per season if he is lucky, and that means his job is to step onto the ice after extended periods of time without real-game action.
It is thus up to Raycroft to find the focus to treat practices and training sessions with a level of intensity comparable to game play, if he is going to maintain the edge required to play at a high level and not show visible rust during the infrequent appearances as Luongo’s backup.
With a winning record so far, to go with a 2.39 goals against average and a .908 save percentage as a Vancouver Canuck, Raycroft’s focus is paying off and allowing him to contribute to the team and participate in one of the strongest goaltending tandems in the NHL.
TODAY: DAY OFF
Well, I guess it’s kind of fitting that on a training day where my inspiration was a backup goalie for Roberto Luongo (who plays virtually every game)…I took the day off from the gym…
TRAINING NOTES
Total Sets (Body): Zero
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