How many calories does a hockey player burn? NHL and Recreation
You must be aware that hockey is a high-intensity, fast-paced sport. Skaters will have to move fast and skate into the field to participate in an exciting activity. Every hockey player, fan, and even the average individual will be interested to know about the strength level of this game.
How many calories does a hockey player burn? The average calories consumed by NHL players in every match range from 1800 to 2500. An amateur hockey skater should expect to consume between 500 and 1000 calories each hour. It is because this is a tough game and requires a lot of energy.
There is detailed information about the number of calories that a player burns during the match. Let’s talk about it in detail!
What factors are taken in for calories burned?
- Length of Time Played: Hockey games at the recreational level usually last 60 minutes. NHL matches last between 2.5 and 3 hours and it also involves intermission time.
- Effort Level: If after one minute of work you are not exhausted, you are not working hard sufficiently. You are essentially racing out there when you play hockey because it requires a full-out effort. The number of calories you consume will directly relate to how tough you work.
- Competitive Level: The majority of hockey matches are practiced on a recreational level. Thus, the NHL professional level of the game is more difficult, exhausting, and calorie-dense.
- Age: While there are certain exemptions, age affects how intense and how long you can play hockey.
How many calories does an NHL player burn during a game?
According to Dave Stubbs of the Montreal Gazette, Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens was also interested in this question. He ultimately chose to wear a heart rate sensor and calorie meter. They were connected to the back of his goaltender trousers and his chest. (Source)
When Price landed at the arena for the match, he turned on the monitor. He would view it again after the match, which took roughly 5.5 hours in total.
When Price reviewed the calculations, the results were close to 2300 calories. He allocated 2000 of these calories to the original game and 300 to the pregame workout.
Furthermore, Jesse Demers was a former weight and training instructor with the New York Islanders. He estimated that an NHL player would expand between 1800 and 2500 calories on an aggregate per match. (Source)
Related post: How to Read Hockey Stats: Player, Goalie, & Team
How many calories do NHL players eat per day?
Maintaining weight during the hockey year is challenging for an NHL player. They will have to be prepared for preseason training in September when they reach their top form. For this, they will devote the whole off-season to developing and preparing their bodies.
They enter maintenance mode at this time and stay there as long as they can till the end of the year. They must strive to consume as many calories as they expend to maintain this maximum. So, an NHL player will typically consume 5000–6000 calories per day. This is around twice what a normal adult male consumes.
Throughout the season, skaters will still lose weight besides this higher calorie consumption. To maintain their body weight and maximum fitness overall all across the entire year, they just consume too many calories during the hockey seasons.
Chart of calories burned per hour for recreational play
Amateur players do not consume as many calories as NHL players do but they still consume a lot of calories.
The number of calories you could estimate burning when playing a hockey match for an hour is shown in the given table for several different body weights.
Again saying, many variables affect it, like intensity level. But if you are playing hockey strongly, you can anticipate getting an excellent session.
| Weight (lbs) | Upper Calories Burned per Hour | Lower Calories Burned per Hour |
| 100 | 477 | 382 |
| 125 | 597 | 477 |
| 150 | 716 | 573 |
| 175 | 883 | 668 |
| 200 | 955 | 764 |
| 225 | 1074 | 859 |
| 250 | 1193 | 955 |
Why does hockey burn so many calories?
The best comparison to HIIT is hockey. Here HIIT is high-intensity interval training. The player only works for a segment of the match or training session in both HIIT and hockey.
In a hockey match with the remaining one hour, it translates to 15 to 18 minutes of actual time on the field. But even when a player is not participating, they are still burning a lot of calories at a significant speed during these “down” periods.
This is why two very different hockey and HIIT are so good at burning calories. Even when you are not playing, you are still consuming a lot of calories.
Related Post: How Many Players Are In The NHL?
Hockey versus other sports
How are other games related to hockey? You must know that hockey is one of the more intense and calorie-burning games. I’ll employ a 185-pound player playing for an hour in this scenario.
So, a comparison of hockey to 10 popular sports is shown in the following chart:
| Sports | Calories burned per Hour |
| Hockey | 706 |
| Skiing | 391 |
| Baseball | 391 |
| Football | 654 |
| Tennis | 672 |
| Swimming | 817 |
| Soccer | 754 |
| Basketball | 340 |
| Volleyball | 239 |
| Boxing | 981 |
Is hockey a good workout?
Yes, hockey is a great exercise by any criterion you choose. In terms of competitive sports, it is among the finest activities. Only an individual exercise like swimming or jogging will allow you to consume more calories than playing hockey. Also, squash is one of the racquet sports that burns a lot of calories.
Thus, hockey is an excellent choice if you would like to participate in a sport that will help you get into form. Additionally, playing hockey is a lot of fun!
Conclusion: How many calories does a hockey player burn?
Although many sports help to consume calories, hockey is among the games that help to reduce your body weight and burn more calories. So, how many calories does a hockey player burn? According to the average estimate of burned calories in a hockey match, it is about 1800 to 2500.
