Shattenkirk seeks elite status thanks to new fitness regimen
St. Louis Blues defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk was well on his way to a banner year with the Blues last season until an injury last February derailed all of his positive progress. Shattenkirk suffered an abdominal tear after a collision with Alexander Ovechkin, and the defenseman missed 25 games with the injury and never returned to full strength last season.
But Shattenkirk said he finally felt like he was back to normal during skates over the summer, and he said he believes he recovered from the injury faster than he would have had he not adopted a new fitness regimen ahead of last season.
"I think the one light at the end of the tunnel when I did get hurt was that I was told early I would be able to play again at the end of the year," Shattenkirk told NHL.com. "I think for any player, that's always promising. It allows you to keep your head in it. But I think now I realize that it started with what I did last summer preparing myself. I made sure to stay on top of that again this summer. You can't plan for injuries, unfortunately. I just have to do my best to kind of replicate that again and take care of my body so that it doesn't happen again."
Shattenkirk worked out last summer at Prentiss Hockey Performance, a training center in Darien, Conn. His new way of preparation paid off through the first half of the season, when he recorded 16 points in 17 games and earned his first nomination to the NHL All-Star Game. Shattenkirk finished the year with 44 points in 56 games and a plus-19 rating, a huge jump from his 2013-14 stats of 45 points in 81 games and a plus-1 rating.
Shattenkirk is attempting to replicate that pre-injury form with another strong start for the Blues, and there is a possibility Shattenkirk could also take on a leadership role with the Blues, who are looking to name two new alternate captains. Shattenkirk served as a captain in college at Boston University and was an alternate captain for Team USA at the 2009 World Junior Championships. He said he relishes the chance to possibly play a leadership role now in the NHL.
"Not many people can say that they've been named an [alternate] captain or even a captain in this League," Shattenkirk told NHL.com. "That would be very special."
(h/t NHL)
