How Many Calories Does a Hockey Player Burn? [NHL and Recreation]

Hockey is a fast-paced and high-metabolism game. An intense sport requires players to move quickly and skate into the arena. How many calories does a hockey player burn during an intense game? It’s a common question that every hockey player or fan, even an ordinary person, will be curious to know.

My friends and I play hockey games every Saturday and Sunday. My friend was curious about calories burned, making us interested too. So, we did some research on it. Even he bought heart monitored band that he set on his heart and has a result on the mobile app. He checks them every time he plays.

So, upon thinking about that, we did detailed research on it. Here is some information that we found. I hope you find it helpful.

In a single hockey game, an average amount of 1800 to 2500 calories are usually burned by an NHL player. A recreational player burns approximately 500 to 1000 calories per hour in a hockey game. While a hockey player burns an average of 660 calories per hour.

Let’s take a look at this calories burned research.

Factors Involved In a Calories Burn

Hockey is an intense game that burns many calories throughout the game. Multiple factors are involved, like age, gender, effort, time a game is played, and competition level.

1. Age

Age is the genuine factor that affects one physically. It is true that young players have more energy and stamina and can play longer than older players.

2. Gender

Gender is another factor that affects metabolism. Biologically, a man’s body has a high metabolism level and thus burns more calories than a woman’s.

3. Effort Level

A hockey player’s shift is about 47 seconds on the ice, and when players return, they are tired enough, breathing heavily. If a player does not breathe heavily and is not tired enough, he has not sprinted out his maximum energy and exerted as much effort as required.

4. Time You Played

It is common to understand that the longer a player plays, the more calories he burns. A recreational game lasts 1 hour and 15 minutes, and an NHL game lasts about 2.5 to 3 hours. So NHL players will burn more calories than recreational players.

5. Competition Level

There is a difference between a recreational-level game and a professional-level NHL game. However, recreational hockey is good but is not up to the standard of a professional NHL game. An NHL game is more rigid, demanding, challenging, and burns more calories than a recreational one.

How Many Calories Does A Player Burned Per NHL Game?

Jesse Demers, the New York Islander’s former strength and conditioning coach of the team, was curious to measure the calories amount burn in the NHL game. He measured the player’s calorie expenditures and figured out that, on average, a player burns 1800 to 2500 calories per NHL game.

Similarly, Montreal Canadians Carey Price is urged to know the number of calories burned during a game. So, he clipped the monitor and calorie heart counter on his chest and the back of his pants.

He switched on the monitor when he reached the game rink and checked it after the final whistle. The estimated time was 5.5 hours.

When he checked the counter, it showed 2300 calories. He said 300 calories was from pregame practice, and 2000 was from the actual game.

This calorie amount depends on how many minutes a player stayed on the ice and in which position he played.

Estimated Amount of Calories a Player Consumes In A Day

To the NHL player, the most important thing is to maintain their weight and body shape.

Due to the excess amount of calories, they lose during the game. It became their first need to fuel their body with the required ingredients during their off time. Even during their rest time or in the off-season, athletes must continue to provide their bodies with enough diet to be in their best shape. So that when they are back in the season, they will be firmer and more refreshed than before.

The average amount of calories a men player takes in a day is 2500 – 3500Kcl, while female players take 2000 – 3000Kcl. An ordinary man takes half of this amount which shows how much extra fuel or supply they need to get into their game momentum and fully active.

Even with this high intake of calories, players are still at risk of losing their body weight due to the physical nature of the sport. This is why the franchise staff has dieticians and fitness trainers to check and maintain the players’ physical fitness to keep them healthy.

Recreational Game Chart of Calories Burned Per Game

The calorie-burning ratio of a recreational game player is less than that of an NHL player. But still, it is a significant number they burned.

Various weights and calories range that is expected to be burned in a recreational game are listed below in the chart. Yet, many factors are included in this, like effort level. But if a player skates hard, you have done a decent workout.

Weight (lbs)	Calories Burned Per Hour	Lower Calories Burned Per Hour
100	477	382
125	197	477
150	716	573
175	883	668
200	955	764
225	1074	859
250	1193	955

Why is Hockey Among Most Burned Calories Sports?

Hockey and other HIIT programs are the same. In both games, the athletes work only for a training period of the game.

Actually, an hour of a hockey game is 15 to 18 minutes of playing. Players come and go on the ice. When they are not putting in so much effort, even at that time, their calories are burned at a high rate.

This is why both HIIT and hockey are so effective when it comes to burning calories. Even when playing less, your calories will still burn a lot.

Hockey Vs. Rest of Sports

Ice hockey is one of the top calorie-burning games compared to other sports. The chart below shows the sport’s calorie-burning levels and how much hockey can burn.

Rank	Sports	Calories Burned Per Hour
1	Hockey	706
2	Football	654
3	Tennis	672
4	Soccer	754
5	Swimming	817
6	Boxing	981
7	Skiing	391
8	Baseball	391
9	Basketball	340
10	Volleyball	239

Can Ice Hockey Be Considered As a Good Workout?

Yes definitely, without other arguments, hockey can be considered a healthy workout. When compared with other sports, hockey ranks near the highest calories-burning sport.

If you want to burn calories, you can do that by doing other sports such as swimming, running, jumping, etc. But hockey is the best choice to turn your body into an active and healthy shape. Not only will it shape your body, but you will also have so much fun.

However, there is another question that many people ask: Do Hockey Players Lose Weight During a Game? Apparently, the exploratorium claims that some players can lose as much as 5 to 8 pounds during an average game. As water is the main component of this loss, players should make sure they keep their bodies hydrated.

The Bottom Line on How Many Calories Does a Hockey Player Burn?

Ice hockey is a highly physically energy exertion sport. Passes and goals may seem natural to a player but skating, like flying on the ice and competing, is a real workout.

Burning of calories depends on your age, gender, weight, and the amount of effort you put in. Others factors are how much time you spend on the ice playing hockey and how much you compete. Many youngsters play junior hockey just for exercise to remain healthy and fit.