Maple Leafs Make New Hire With Strong Connection To Sidney Crosby
· Yahoo Sports
It’s been one of the biggest summers in terms of change in recent memory for fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have witnessed their club make meaningful shifts in leadership on the bench, in their front office, and on the ice.
Visit betsport24.es for more information.
Under the direction of new general manager John Chayka, the Maple Leafs have undergone a significant transformation that they hope will put them back in contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the annual dance for the first time in a decade earlier this spring.
And among the new hires that the club has brought aboard so far in the offseason has significant ties to future Hall of Fame Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Have Hired Sidney Crosby’s Trainer Andy O’Brien
According to NHL Insider Steve Simmons, the Maple Leafs have hired Andy O’Brien, the longtime trainer of future Hall of Fame forward Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins; he also happens to have ties to Hayley Wickenheiser, who parted ways with the Maple Leafs as part of their leadership transition earlier this summer.
O’Brien will serve as the club’s new strength and conditioning coach:
“Maple Leafs have hired Sidney Crosby’s longtime trainer, Andy O’Brien, as their new strength and conditioning coach,” Simmons wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “An irony here: O’Brien used to Hayley Wickenheiser’s trainer back in the day.”
O’Brien, who met Crosby when he was just 13, immediately recognized his talent.
“What was interesting for me is he was a guy that saw the ice really well, but he wasn’t a guy that tried to use his hands to make a lot of plays — like he used his body and he was physical and he was aggressive and he kinda had this alpha male characteristic,” O’Brien said of Crosby in 2013.
“Typically, when you think of a skilled player, you think of guys with just really good hands, like a good shot. … It’s like you’re either skilled or you’re a hard-working, grinder-type guy. That was the tradition.”
O’Brien also taught Crosby the fundamentals of proper physical technique so as to lessen the risk of injury.
“And during breaks, we would eat together and I would teach him all about physiology, the names of the muscles and the philosophy behind what we were doing,” O’Brien noted.
“It was an opportunity for me when I was younger to really key in on one young guy that had a lot of talent and was very motivated.”
It’s Been A Summer Of Change For The Maple Leafs
The Maple Leafs have already made meaningful changes in leadership, notably behind the bench since the arrival of John Chayka.
Chayka fired coach Craig Berube and also didn’t retain assistant coaches Derek Lalonde and Mike Van Ryn. In their stead, he hired former Maple Leafs assistant coach Jim Hiller, who had spent the last handful of seasons with the Los Angeles Kings.
The Maple Leafs also hired former rival captain Daniel Alfredsson as an assistant coach, along with John Gruden and Brad Werenka, to serve on Hiller’s staff.
Like HEAVY's content?Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on HEAVY
The post Maple Leafs Make New Hire With Strong Connection To Sidney Crosby appeared first on HEAVY.