An advantage the Colorado Avalanche have over every team in the NHL

[Revelation]

Said advantage appears to be cancelled out by their management and coaching apparently sustaining brain damage from the lack of oxygen.

 

[torniojaws]

another big advantage the avalanche have, as a result of being up so high in the mountains, is they can see the other teams coming from far away. so they're able to prepare for longer cause they know who is coming.

I have the high ground!

 

[glovesave_35]

I think the real advantage they have is that they suck so no one takes them seriously and they can take advantage of being underestimated

I thought this is what the thread was actually going to be about.

 

[GaboriklessWild]

It makes no difference. Every player/team that uses PEDs

 

[Qurpiz]

Also weed is legal in Colorado.

So, you know...

 

[Auston Marlander]

Imagine how bad they would be without this advantage.

Looking at the last 10 Stanley cup
Champions the city at the higher altitude is Pittsburgh at 1346 feet.

Safe to say that while cardio training at higher altitudes does have it's it's, there is literally zero proof it is an advantage for an NHL team to have a home arena at a higher altitude.

 

[Rec T]

It's really quite simple for other teams to counter this. Just depressurize the plane that they're flying in on & the team will get acclimated all that much faster...

 

[Freudian]

Has anyone made a joke about Colorado being a bad hockey team last year? I think someone should do that.

 

[Ezekial]

Next you'll say it's easier to kick field goals there or something.

Go get laid nerd, stop with the science.

 

[El Travo]

This used to get brought up at every Avalanche game. Now they realize it's a non-factor because athletes are so well conditioned.

 

[COHawk]

These are world class athletes we are talking about afterall. While living and training at higher elevation does help breathing and endurance, the gap between a good hockey player at altitude and one at sea level is seemingly minuscule.

 

[ref19]

Away teams can't go out and get trashed the night before otherwise they'll feel like shizz at that altitude the first night.

 

[the_fan]

Yeah in all seriousness, I don't think the altitude is an issue for visiting teams in Denver

 

[TheTechNoir]

Sort of negated when hockey players are using xenon to achieve the same effects or better in any city

 

[Sky04]

I thought their advantage was they had zero expectation on them this year

 

[ChuckLefley]

Wow that is pretty cool. Spend a few nights in Mount Everest and you will be Superman lmao.

Studies have shown an average of about 1.5% improvement when living high and training low. Amongst elite athletes that is huge.

If you’re going to continue to comment you should probably do some research.

 

[Colorado Avalanche]

These are world class athletes we are talking about afterall. While living and training at higher elevation does help breathing and endurance, the gap between a good hockey player at altitude and one at sea level is seemingly minuscule.

Tell that to Messi and others when they have to play in Ecuador or Bolivia. 2 mile high. They can basically run for 45 min and then they are finished. Altitude makes a big difference.

 

[Ambisextrous]

People are really sleeping on this advantage

 

[tigervixxxen]

It exists but it is used too much as a talking point. However the Avs have decided getting into fitness warrior shape is going to be their competitive advantage this year so we'll see if it has any endurance effects in games. Theoretically it could give them a slight edge against a tired team. That's about all I'd really take out of it.

 

[The Kingslayer]

It was an advantage when players werent so well conditioned. Its only an advantage against teams that play there on the second half of a back to back.

 

[MacDonald4MVP]

Is that why hockey players do all that altitude training during offseason?

 

[COHawk]

Tell that to Messi and others when they have to play in Ecuador or Bolivia. 2 mile high. They can basically run for 45 min and then they are finished. Altitude makes a big difference.

Sure, but comparing two miles to 1 mile is a MASSIVE difference. And as others have mentioned before, soccer you might be moving for an entire 90+ minutes, not 30-60 seconds at a time. I'm not discounting the effects altitude can have, I'm just saying for hockey in Denver I feel it is smaller than some make it out to be.

Normal oxygen content is 20.9% at sea level. At around a mile high, that level feels like it drops to around 17.3%. Double that to two miles and it drops down further to somehwere between 13-14%.

 

[westc2]

[TABLE="class: brtb_item_table"][TBODY][TR][TD]

Team

Colorado Avalanche

Calgary Flames

Edmonton Oilers

Vegas Golden Knights

Arizona Coyotes

Pittsburgh Penguins

Minnesota Wild

Winnipeg Jets

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings

Chicago Blackhawks

Buffalo Sabres

St. Louis Blues

Nashville Predators

Carolina Hurricanes

Dallas Stars

Ottawa Senators

Toronto Maple Leafs

Los Angeles Kings

Anaheim Ducks

Montreal Canadiens

San Jose Sharks

New York Islanders

Washington Capitals

New York Rangers

New Jersey Devils

Vancouver Canucks

Philadelphia Flyers

Boston Bruins

Tampa Bay Lightning

Florida Panthers

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[/TD]
[TD]

Meters
1,582
1,048
664
652
327
242
236
226
226
185
180
178
143
133
131
124
99
79
73
49
28
26
15
13
10
8
7
5
4
3
1

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[/TD]
[TD]

Feet
5,190
3,438
2,178
2,139
1,073
794
774
741
741
607
591
584
469
436
430
407
325
259
240
161
92
85
49
43
33
26
23
16
13
10
3

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[/TD]
[TD]

Oxygen %
84
89
93
93
96
97
97
97
97
98
98
98
98
98
98
99
99
99
99
99
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100
100

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]

 

[2 Minute Minor]

Studies have shown an average of about 1.5% improvement when living high and training low. Amongst elite athletes that is huge.

If you’re going to continue to comment you should probably do some research.

1.5% of what?

 

[COHawk]

1.5% of what?

Yeah Chuck, what is the "huge" advantage. 1.5% harder shot? 1.5% faster skating? 1.5% more stamina? Why don't you back up your so called research with some sources or insight to what you are talking about.