Strength and conditioning science for hockey has never been better than it is right now.
Leading the way: NCAA schools increasing their budgets for athletic training. True, much of this budgeting is toward athletic training for basketball and football (the big moneymakers) but the carryover has been great for hockey.
Unfortunately, there's also a lot of BAD information out there for hockey players. Stability balls, balance boards, and wobbly surfaces are prevalent – not because they work, but because the Strength and Conditioning Coaches for the players are sometimes unfamiliar with the skating motion and stride. More balance training isn't necessary; after the age of 12, if you can't balance on skates, you're not playing at a high level, and it's too late to develop the balance necessary for NHL play anyway.
With all this good information available, why is the rate of groin pull/strain/injury increasing in hockey every year? Why are we seeing valuable players sit out, burning up contracts worth up to $8 million/year, with injuries that should be completely preventable?
First, consider how the groin works. The adductor musculature (pictured, right) works to do two things that are of primary concern to a skater. First, they bring the legs together (adduction.) That's their primary role, and that's how most people think of them: as little muscles to be stretched and occasionally exercised on the Thigh Machine. However, their secondary role is crucial for hockey players: they also stabilize the pelvis when the hamstrings are engaged in rapid hip extension.
During a powerful hockey stride (or a rapid, short stride,) the hamstrings are fully engaged. The pelvic muscles brace to hold the pelvis in check, so that the foot can push off without the femur popping forward or rotating out of the hip socket. However, if the muscles of the groin can't bear the full thrust of the hamstrings, then they're at risk of damage.
Exercised properly, there's no reason for the groin muscles to ever become the weak cousin to the powerful hamstrings. There's no reason for a large difference in strength – unless, of course, the hamstrings are being trained without the adductors being engaged at the same time. When does that occur? Isolation exercises on machines.
Yes, folks, when asked to name exercises for the hamstrings, most coaches would put Hamstrings Curls (prone, seated, or standing) on a machine at the top of their list. However, during machine-based hamstrings training, the pelvis is stabilized and locked into place by the seat/machine; there's no need for the adductor group to do anything. They laze around, getting weaker, while the hamstrings strengthen and the deficit between the two groups grows. It's NOT GOOD ENOUGH to strengthen individual muscles; you have to teach them to work together at a high intensity.
Like any relationship, when two groups have less and less in common, they stop working together. They lose the ability to find common ground; they're dysfunctional.
How can you avoid dysfunction of the groin, or better yet, IMPROVE its function to allow MORE hamstrings explosiveness? Big, compound movements like squats and deadlifts and lunges and stepups. You need to move weight around at varying speeds to get adductors and hamstrings on the same page. If they're working together, you're going to be faster, avoid downtime (probably more important now, BEFORE you're a pro) and avoid pain.
Get a good trainer, and get in the weight room. Spend a month machine-free, and watch your strength, speed, and power improve, while your injury risk drops dramatically.