Wow.
Never would I say I could workout harder than an athlete in a gym or the weight room but this has to be one of two exceptions I’ve seen. The second being MMA fighter Tim Sylvia’s recent workout video.
I was watching TSN Sportscentre yesterday night and my eyes opened wide when the analysts were talking about how this top five (maybe even three) ranked prospect Sam Bennett from the OHL could not do one pullup. They even showed the video (which I could not find) and it was cringeworthy. Sorry, Sam.
Sports enthusiasts were quick to use the Kevin Durant combine example where he could not bench press 185 pounds. That is a bad argument as one would think benching 185 pounds at a height of 6’9 with long arms would be infinitely harder than a single pullup. Not being able to do a single pullup shows a lack of back strength or work being put in the gym quite frankly.
Someone said it best where you can teach a pullup but you can’t teach a saucer pass, a laser wrist shot, or to skate well. That is true. However in today’s NHL where the big boys dominate the league such as the LA Kings and Boston Bruins, two physical teams with most players being over 200 lbs, this guy will get exposed. A team that wants to model to play those two teams will not be interested at all in this kid unless he starts putting serious work in the gym.
How is he going to win the battles on the boards or throw people around when he can’t do one pullup?
My grandpa probably could.
Here’s his highlight below which shows he has skills but with the direction the NHL is being taken with big bodied teams dominating the postseason, he might not be able to make some noise.
Get in the gym Sam.
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