Garnet Exelby spent seven seasons in the NHL known as the “enforcer” for the Atlanta Thrashers and Toronto Maple Leafs. He compiled just 50 points in his seven seasons, but the impact he had on those teams was indisputable.
He won a Calder Cup in 2002 with the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League and was an All-Star with the team in 2003. From there, he compiled 584 penalty minutes in his career.
After spending the 2014-15 season with Dornbirner EC in the Austrian Hockey League, he opted out of his contact and left the club in December of 2014.
Two years later, he is the strength and conditioning coach of the ASU men's hockey team.
Exelby was hired as ASU’s strength and conditioning coach on May 10, 2016.
“We wanted to hire a guy who has been there and done that,” head coach Greg Powers said. “For a strength and conditioning coach, he is as good as it gets. He really knows how to train kids to become pros. It’s not just about training their bodies, it’s about training their minds to be pros.”
Exelby sat down with The State Press to talk about the best part of his new job, why he came to ASU and what he hopes to be remembered for in his tenure at ASU.
Why did you come to Arizona State to become the strength and conditioning coach of this team?
"I had a couple of friends involved in the organization, and I knew strength and conditioning was always a strong component of my personal career. I felt like it made me, as an average player, be able to have some moderate success as far as playing a healthy number of years in the professional ranks and in the NHL. I really had some great mentors along the way for first few years professionally, and I really liked this age group and wanted to help these kids become better players and helping them realize some of their dreams."
What is the best part of this job, more than anything?
"Yeah, watching the guys day in and day out putting the effort in training and just trying to get better on and off the ice. And just to have these guys realize some personal and team success in games. I think it is always nice to see the end goal where they are doing better on the ice because they are all here to be better hockey players and to be fine young men. Just to have them realize the success on the ice because everybody is here to be a better hockey player."
Is there one particular player that has stood out to you, not just on the ice but in the gym?
"A lot of our freshman class this year has really come in and been very prepared. Gruber, Busch, the Paschinuk brothers, they all have been great. They have all come with hard work ethics and you can tell they have always been training. They always have a little personal competition and try to get one more rep or a little more weight. That’s the kind of culture I want to breed here. That one more, just a little more and all those things will add up to be bigger, better, stronger and faster players."
Being someone who played in the NHL, you know what it takes to be a successful hockey player, on and off the ice. What have you told the boys about being a successful player on and off the ice?
"I just try to stress nutrition, definitely. But everything is related as well. So sleep is just as important as nutrition. And nutrition is just as important as being flexible and being strong. I think it is all about balance. There is obviously the rigors and stress of being a student as well as well as an athlete. So they need to find a way to get it all done and stay focused on the task at hand, which is maybe a practice that day or a workout."
When you are at the gym and watching these guys work out, what do you see in these guys and how driven are they to succeed?
"They are very driven. I am a stickler for technique and just the speed at which the workout is completed and sometimes you have guys who are too eager to lift fast or lift more at the expense of doing it properly. So that is a lot of the corrective nature that I need to be on top of. Just to have the attitude to be eager and to get better, faster and stronger is very important."
You played seven seasons in the NHL with Atlanta and Toronto. What have you taken from your NHL career and brought here to Arizona State?
"I think the biggest thing is that there is so much competition on the line for a spot on any team. Just to be in the conversation, you have to be in tip-top shape and taking care of all facets of your life just to have a chance. I just stress the importance of that to these kids because some kids are more skilled than the others. But it’s all about giving teams and coaches fewer reasons to pick someone else over you. You just need to make sure you are ready and prepared for every workout, every practice and for every game. You don’t have to be a professional hockey player to be a pro."
What do you want to be remembered as, being the strength and conditioning coach of this team?
"I really just want guys to stay healthy, above and beyond being stronger and faster. The more I can keep guys on the ice because obviously there are a lot of traumatic injuries that happen in hockey and its not a matter of “if," it’s “when” you get injured. I really would like that to be what I am remembered for, but just being able to help the guys across the board not just fitness wise. Just any experiences that I had over the years that I can instill in these guys would be good for me."
You compiled 584 penalty minutes in your career. What is the reason that fighting in the NHL has disintegrated and why has it now fallen off the map?
"I think we are learning more and more about concussions and head injuries. Before that, the old school mentality, maybe we didn’t know as much and the risk didn’t seem as great at the time. I think that’s the leading cause of it. And the game has shifted too. It’s more of a speed and wide-open game. Just trying to make the game generally safe for players, there’s always going to be that point of contention."
Reach the reporter wbdewitt@asu.edu or follow @westondewitt on Twitter
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