{"id":329061,"date":"2025-11-29T13:39:11","date_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:39:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/329061\/"},"modified":"2025-11-29T13:39:11","modified_gmt":"2025-11-29T13:39:11","slug":"avalanches-nathan-mackinnon-brent-burns-share-passion-for-training-off-ice-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/329061\/","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon, Brent Burns share passion for training, off-ice work"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nearly two years ago, Jared Bednar offered four words that summarized Nathan MacKinnon\u2019s rise to the top of the NHL en route to his first Hart Trophy: We get in late<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bednar\u2019s team altered its travel itinerary to accommodate MacKinnon\u2019s postgame recovery routine, which several of his Colorado Avalanche teammates also partake in. It\u2019s just part of the near mythological tale of MacKinnon\u2019s off-ice commitment to on-ice excellence.<\/p>\n

Brent Burns has cultivated a similar reputation<\/a> across more than two decades in the NHL. His passion for off-ice training and taking care of his body is a big part of why he has played more than 1,500 NHL games and will have a plaque inside the Great Hall at the Hockey Hall of Fame three years after he\u2019s done playing.<\/p>\n

This is his first season with the Avalanche, and he\u2019s offered an addendum to the lore of MacKinnon and his teammates\u2019 zeal for the work they put in during the season: They get in early.<\/p>\n

Burns has mentioned this a few times. He\u2019s always prided himself on being one of the first guys at the rink every morning, going back to his days with Joe Thornton and the San Jose Sharks. Then he signed with the Avs, and he started seeing a bunch of cars when he pulled into the Family Sports Center parking lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s been a huge blessing for me coming here,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThere\u2019s so many guys here that are so dedicated to it.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were plenty of reasons to believe Burns and the Avalanche could be a good fit when he signed a one-year, incentive-laden deal on July 1. One of the most obvious: Burns is a workout warrior, a guy who has always been a leader in that aspect for every team he\u2019s played for.<\/p>\n

The idea of MacKinnon and Burns being on the same team conjured up images of the scene from Step Brothers, when Brennan Huff (Will Ferrell) asks Dale Doback (John C. Reilly), \u201cDid we just become best friends?\u201d<\/p>\n

While MacKinnon and Burns haven\u2019t done any karate together in the garage, Burns has enjoyed getting a behind-the-scenes look at what helps make MacKinnon one of the best players of his generation.<\/p>\n

\u201cNate is very well known for a lot of his things and (expletive), I\u2019ve already learned a lot from him,\u201d Burns said. \u201cWe talk quite a bit about it. I love picking his brain.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis stuff changes all the time, and Nate is obviously at the tip of the spear for all of it. It\u2019s been awesome. I love that he loves to share and lets other guys know. That\u2019s a really great thing. A lot of us can learn a lot from a guy like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

There have been plenty of stories about both players and their passion for taking care of their bodies, often told by teammates or ex-teammates on podcasts or just passed along by word of mouth. Both players are particular about nutrition and what they put into their bodies, though in different ways.<\/p>\n

Burns has a ranch in Texas where he has imported various types of animals to hunt<\/a>, allowing him to eat meat that never sees preservatives, a delivery truck or a grocery freezer. He makes his own coffee, both at home and on the road.<\/p>\n

MacKinnon is one of three athletes, including Andrew Wiggins of the Miami Heat and Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadians, who recently began endorsing HappiEats sport pasta<\/a>. They also promote Cwench, a sports hydration drink. MacKinnon has been a big proponent of chickpea pasta in the past, and isn\u2019t afraid to offer dietary tips<\/a> to his teammates.<\/p>\n

Their workout routines are undoubtedly different, but there are some similarities. Riding a stationary bike after games is a staple for MacKinnon, and many of his teammates have adopted it. Burns also likes to get on a bicycle, though his is the more traditional variety \u2014 he has incorporated cycling into his offseason plan for years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do a lot of different things. He\u2019s got his stuff, and I do a lot of things differently,\u201d MacKinnon said. \u201cHe\u2019s got all these different machines. I don\u2019t know what those machines are, but they\u2019re working for him.<\/p>\n

\"NathanNathan MacKinnon (29) of the Colorado Avalanche and Ryan Poehling (25) of the Anaheim Ducks prepare to face off during the third period at Ball Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (Photo by AAron Ontiveroz\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a great guy, awesome teammate. He\u2019s got a lot of stuff that he does, but he\u2019s super excited every day about doing new things with (strength and conditioning coach Alexi Pianosi), who is also awesome. He\u2019s a curious guy at 40, and I think that\u2019s why he\u2019s played so long. He\u2019s stayed curious, doesn\u2019t think he knows everything and he\u2019s always open to new ideas. I think that\u2019s kind of a key to life, to be honest, is to just stay open.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKinnon might drive the proverbial bus for much of the off-ice work, but there are plenty of eager passengers in the Avs locker room. Brock Nelson has been friends with Devon Toews for years, dating back to their time together with the New York Islanders.<\/p>\n

Nelson knew about the culture in the Avs locker room, both through Toews and because of his experience working with Andy O\u2019Brien, one of the NHL\u2019s most famous personal trainers. Nelson began working with O\u2019Brien about a decade ago through John Tavares, but MacKinnon has worked with him for even longer.<\/p>\n

That culture played a role in Nelson wanting to stay after arriving at the trade deadline last season. He signed a three-year contract in early June, weeks before he could have gone to the open market as the best center available.<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like the whole performance aspect, from strength and condition to everything else here, is as good as it gets,\u201d Nelson said. \u201cObviously, that is driven by (MacKinnon). He\u2019s on a completely different level. His fitness, how dialed in he is, is as good as it gets.<\/p>\n

\u201cGuys see that, and there\u2019s a method to the madness. He\u2019s one of one. You can\u2019t replicate what he\u2019s doing and then after be like, \u2018OK, I\u2019m going to feel like him.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Nelson is one of the older players on the team, but he\u2019s also someone, like MacKinnon, who has found a new level of performance and production later in his career. That\u2019s not how aging curves have worked for much of the NHL\u2019s history, but the work players do when they\u2019re not on the ice is drastically different now.<\/p>\n

Nelson has also enjoyed watching Burns assimilate with the Avalanche, and the physical fitness think tank that the team culture has fostered.<\/p>\n

\"ColoradoColorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns (84) takes the puck up ice against Josh Dunne in the second period at Ball Arena in Denver on Thursday, Nov. 13, 2025. (Photo by Andy Cross\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

\u201c(Burns) has bags upon bags of tools and gadgets,\u201d Nelson said. \u201d He\u2019s always saying how he\u2019s stiff and sore, but you see that he\u2019s 40 and he still moves extremely well. He\u2019s stacking all these habits, the gadgets. He\u2019s always foam rolling. He\u2019s always got something going on, something that is working for him in terms of performance and feeling good.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s contagious. It drives guys to be better and try new things. If you can get 1%, 2% out of something that makes you a little bit better, it\u2019s definitely worth it<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to go into like, I\u2019m not going to feel like Superman. It\u2019s not going to be revolutionary, but if you feel better by a little bit, then it\u2019s something that mentally you can have belief in and conviction that this is one of those things that is helping me.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKinnon is famously private about the specifics of his secrets, at least to the outside world. Sportsnet\u2019s Elliotte Friedman spoke about MacKinnon\u2019s postgame stationary bike routine on an episode of the \u201c32 Thoughts\u201d podcast.<\/a> A couple of days later, the Avs superstar countered a question about it with mild displeasure and a desire to know where Friedman was getting his information.<\/p>\n

MacKinnon is one of the most insightful players in the NHL when it comes to the overall philosophies of taking care of the body. Just don\u2019t ask him about specifics in his routine, unless you are one of his teammates.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a reason why he\u2019s at the top of the world,\u201d Burns said. \u201cThere\u2019s obviously some God-given talent, but there\u2019s obviously a lot of work and a lot of dedication and time. That he is willing to share with everybody else and make everybody around him better is really, well, it\u2019s special.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maybe Burns would be willing to offer up a secret or two? Something that even he made him go, \u2018Wow?\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been lots,\u201d Burns said. \u201cHe might share it with us, but I ain\u2019t sharing it with anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n

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