Dylan Strome feels summer training changes are making a difference

BERLIN — Dylan Strome’s summer with Blackhawks trainer Paul Goodman, who rebuilt his training strategy and adjusted his on-ice posture, was a lot of strenuous work.

Strome hoped that it would all have a noticeable effect once training camp began. And so far, it’s been good news.

“I feel a little stronger on the ice,” Strome said recently. “I’m not giving up the puck as easy, holding onto it a little bit longer. Things like that we were working on in the summer and they kind of just naturally happen during the season.”

As a tall 6-3 forward using a relatively short stick, Strome previously played — during his underwhelming seasons in Arizona and his breakout 2019 winter in Chicago — tilted forward slightly, simply because of physics.

Goodman implemented an offseason workout plan, tested successfully the previous summer on Strome’s best friend, Alex DeBrincat, to strengthen his lower body and core, allowing his center of gravity to shift lower and enabling him to play fully upright.

It’s unlikely the benefits will show themselves in Strome’s stats in 2019-20, if only because he’ll be hard-pressed to repeat his elite 2018-19 production (51 points in 58 games with the Hawks) due to an unsustainable 16.2 shooting percentage. But the goal is Strome’s improved posture and strength will make an underlying difference, helping him at least come close to maintaining that lofty scoring rate.

In four preseason appearances, including Sunday’s exhibition in Berlin, Strome felt the various little tweaks transitioned rather seamlessly into his on-ice style.

“It’s not a difference I notice too much,” he said. “Just a natural thing. Since we skate so much in the summer, hopefully those habits continue to build in the summer, and then you just take them into training camp.”

One tangible impact that coach Jeremy Colliton hopes Strome’s new strength will have is on his stamina.

His elevated role on the Hawks after last November’s trade was a challenge from a pure endurance standpoint. After averaging about 13:30 minutes during his Coyotes tenure, Strome averaged more than 17 minutes in Chicago, all while completing his first full NHL season.

“We used him a lot, and that can wear on you as a young guy,” Colliton said. “Where we’re hopefully going to see the change is his ability to stand up to the grind and play deeper in his shift.”

Strome’s hefty average shift time of 52 seconds was also a factor, as that tied for second-longest among Hawks forwards last season. (In the NHL preseason, it was up to 64 seconds per shift.)

Colliton wants to see him make more of every second this year, especially in his zone.

“In the second half of his shift, that’s when you see the fitness issue and [the need for] continuing to get stronger, having more of a man’s stamina to take those battles deep in your shift to get it out of the ‘D’ zone,” the coach said.

“Ultimately, it’s going to help him offensively [too]. It showed a lot of commitment for him to stay and put the work in, and it can only help him.”