Niverville Nighthawks coach gets call to the big leagues

Rob Pambrun got the call everyone involved in hockey wants, as the Winnipeg Jets invited the Niverville Nighthawks’ strength and conditioning coach to be a part of their upcoming development camp.

For Pambrun, whose junior career was cut short due to an injury, the chance to participate at an NHL camp is a dream come true.

“It’s a player or coach’s greatest honour, to be recruited by the NHL” Pambrun said.

The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is clearly on the top league’s radar, not just for players’ on-ice performances, but coaches off the ice. Winkler Flyers coach Justin Falk was hired by the Buffalo Sabres as a scout last season.

“We kind of think it stops with the players, but it really doesn’t,” Pambrun said on professional level scouting.

“You never know who’s watching. When it comes to support staff, with teams player development is huge. Being able to perfect players’ performance is really key to maximizing performance output.”

Pambrun will be working with potential NHL players in off-ice sessions and fitness testing at the camp and is hoping to leave a good impression with both players and team staff.

Pambrun said a good strength and conditioning coach is able to spot a player’s physical weakness on the ice and craft a plan to help them eliminate it.

“It’s not just being in the gym lifting weights, it’s balance, coordination, cardio, dry-land sessions and things like that,” he said.

The key for some players to take the next step in their hockey journey, be it from the U18 to the MJHL, Junior A to the NCAA or from fresh-faced prospect to NHL star, may come off the ice thanks to coaches like Pambrun.

“Hockey is a performance-based sport, and everyone gets wrapped up in the hockey skill,” he said.

“You still have talented players who have to hone in on their nutrition and their training and really see ‘what kind of player am I and what do I need to do to get better.’”

Some players who make the jump to the MJHL are seeing a more professional level of off-ice training for the first time.

“As times go on, the player development side is just getting bigger and bigger,” Pambrun said.

When not working with Nighthawks players, Pambrun runs his own fitness business, Team Prep Starz, which does one-on-one and small group training with hockey players. He was a member of the Southeast Blades as a player, the franchise which moved to Steinbach in 2009.

The Winnipeg Jets development camp will take place shortly after the NHL draft.