NHL High Performance, Isokinetics, and Building a System Devan McConnell, Utah Mammoth Hockey Club

We sit down with Devan McConnell, High Performance Director for the Utah Mammoth and longtime NHL performance leader with the New Jersey Devils and Arizona Coyotes. Devan shares how motorized resistance became a cornerstone of his performance, reconditioning, and sports science system across multiple NHL organizations

We dive into acceleration in hockey, isokinetic strength training, return-to-play integration, and how scaling from one Quantum to multiple Sprints and Cables changed what was possible in a team setting. From pitching performance tech to ownership to building an 8,000 square foot performance facility, this episode blends coaching, leadership, and system design at the highest level of professional hockey

We cover:

-Devan’s path from collegiate S&C to NHL High Performance Director

-Early adoption of the 1080 Quantum and Sprint in New Jersey

-Using acceleration as a primary KPI in hockey

-Isokinetics for strength, power, and safe force production

-Reconditioning long-term RTP cases with motorized resistance

-Scaling from one unit to multiple Sprints and Cables in Utah

-Training frontal and transverse plane power for hockey athletes

-Integrating isokinetic resistance into bench press and split squats

-How to justify performance technology to management and ownership

-The future of hockey development: change of direction, on-ice sprinting, and applied experimentation