Prediction of Maximum Lactate Concentration During an All-Out Anaerobic Test in Elite Ice Hockey Players

The lack of specific on-ice tests to predict maximum lactate concentration limits the ability of coaches to better track and develop their ice hockey players. Thus, this study aimed to develop an equation for indirectly assessing the maximum lactate concentration produced from an all-out on-ice skating effort in elite adolescent ice hockey players. Twenty elite male ice hockey players participated in this study (age = 15.7 ± 1.0 year). The lactate anaerobic skating test (LAST) consisted of skating back and forth on an 18.2 m course at maximal speed with abrupt stops at each end for a total of 6 shuttles (total distance = 218.2 m; average time = 52.0 ± 2.0 s). The oxygen uptake was measured using a portable metabolic analyzer (Cosmed K4b²) and the maximum post-exercise lactate concentration with a Lactate Pro analyzer. The variables used to estimate lactate concentration were time, heart rate, number of skating strides in the last shuffle (6^th) and the skating stride index. The average maximum lactate concentration was 14.4 mmol· L^-1, which is expected in elite players. The analysis of explained common variance using T-test (r² = 0.759) and linear regression (r² = 0.863) demonstrates the validity of the model. Additionally, the root mean square error (RMSE = 0.60 mmol· L^-1), the mean absolute error (MAE = 0.45mmol· L^-1) and the standard error of estimate (SEE = 0.69 mmol· L^-1) values further confirm the accuracy of the model. Thus, using simple and easy-to-measure variables (i.e., time and skating stride), coaches will be able to monitor more effectively their players' progress in an effort to optimize their individual on-ice performance.