Thursday, March 28, 2024

Adam Oates Knows Best, Just Ask Jonathan Toews

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If you’ve been following the Blackhawks this season, then you know Jonathan Toews has been on an absolute tear to start this season. Toews has had some help this offseason in the form of a new trainer, Adam Oates. He currently has 9 points (5G, 4A) in 5 games.

Table provided by puckpedia.com

Who Is Adam Oates?

Adam Oates is a former NHL player who has moved onto being a skills trainer for various NHL players. Oates considers himself a “late bloomer”, but you couldn’t tell by looking at his extremely successful 19-year career in the NHL. He would eventually become an NHL Hall of Famer in 2012.

                              Scor Scor     Scor
Season            Tm  Lg   GP    G    A  PTS +/-
1985-86          DET NHL   38    9   11   20 -25
1986-87          DET NHL   76   15   32   47  -1
1987-88          DET NHL   63   14   40   54  16
1988-89          DET NHL   69   16   62   78  -1
1989-90          STL NHL   80   23   79  102   9
1990-91          STL NHL   61   25   90  115  15
1991-92          TOT NHL   80   20   79   99  -9
1991-92          STL NHL   54   10   59   69  -4
1991-92          BOS NHL   26   10   20   30  -5
1992-93          BOS NHL   84   45   97  142  15
1993-94          BOS NHL   77   32   80  112  10
1994-95          BOS NHL   48   12   41   53 -11
1995-96          BOS NHL   70   25   67   92  16
1996-97          TOT NHL   80   22   60   82  -5
1996-97          BOS NHL   63   18   52   70  -3
1996-97          WSH NHL   17    4    8   12  -2
1997-98          WSH NHL   82   18   58   76   6
1998-99          WSH NHL   59   12   42   54  -1
1999-00          WSH NHL   82   15   56   71  13
2000-01          WSH NHL   81   13   69   82  -9
2001-02          TOT NHL   80   14   64   78  -4
2001-02          WSH NHL   66   11   57   68  -2
2001-02          PHI NHL   14    3    7   10  -2
2002-03          MDA NHL   67    9   36   45  -1
2003-04          EDM NHL   60    2   16   18   0
Career    19 Seasons NHL 1337  341 1079 1420  33

Provided by Hockey-Reference.com: View Original Table

Oates was a playmaking specialist in the NHL as he racked up 1079 career assists. He currently sits at 7th all-time in assists. Here are some of his career highlights.

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Life After Hockey Has Been Rewarding For Adam Oates

Although Adam Oates is done playing hockey, he’s not done making assists. Adam is known as a hockey whisperer and has worked with many NHL stars such as Mark Scheifele, Steven Stamkos, Max Pacioretty, Jack Eichel, Sam Gagner, Darnell Nurse, Greg Pateryn, Kevan Miller, Zach Parise, James Van Riemsdyk, Blake Wheeler, Travis Zajac, and more. Many of his clients have seen career highs after he has worked with them. You can see why in this promo video.

If you’re curious about the work Adam Oates does with various NHL players, make sure you visit his company’s website, Oates Sports Group. There isn’t much footage of individual player workouts, because Oates prefers to keep each player’s workout as private as possible. However, you can see player testimonials, links to interviews and podcasts, and more on the website.

The Adam Oates Effect On Jonathan Toews and the Blackhawks

As mentioned in Episode 115 of the always entertaining Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, Blackhawks’ Captain, Jonathan Toews, is one of Oates’ latest clients. Toews’ offseason hiring and hard work have paid off in a big way. He looks fresh, his burst is back, and his inner fire is burning as bright and strong as it ever was.

Toews has gotten off to arguably the best start of his career this season. As of right now, he is tied for 7th in goals (5), tied for 9th in points (9), and already has 1 hat trick through just 5 games. Toews’ red-hot start has the Blackhawks in 2nd place in the Central division and 3rd place in the Western Conference with 8 points.

Adam Oates has Jonathan Toews firing on all cylinders right now and it’s trickling down to the rest of the team. Let’s see if Toews can keep this momentum going for the remaining 77 games of the 2018-19 NHL season. The Blackhawks’ success ultimately depends on their Captain, and the rest of the core players, building off of the early season success.

For more Blackhawks news and updates, follow the author @Certified_TonyG on Twitter.

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