Robert Pambrun has been working with the Nighthawks as their head strength, conditioning, and sport sciences coach for the past three years. This month, Pambrun will add to his resume when he joins the coaches of the Winnipeg Jets for the NHL team’s annual development camps.
As a volunteer coach, Pambrun will be working with young up-and-coming draft picks and those who have a shot at making the Jets roster in the coming years. He’ll be providing on- and off-ice fitness testing and creating specialized training workouts.
“It’s quite remarkable and encouraging to know that all the hard work I’ve been putting into this is being recognized at the highest level of hockey,” says Pambrun. “I’m very excited to help them out and leave a good impression.”
Pambrun says it was thanks to a series of fortunate events and connections that he was chosen for the role.
“I was at an MJHL event and was talking with the scouting coordinator for the Winnipeg Jets,” Pambrun says. “We were discussing some of the players that I had previously worked with and the role I had with Niverville Nighthawks, and one thing led to another.”
At one time in his life, Pambrun was also a junior hockey player, but a knee injury ended his career.
Since then, he’s focused his energy on becoming a professional trainer and bodybuilder.
He owns his own fitness consulting company, called Team Prep Starz, and runs a hockey academy alongside.
Many of Pambrun’s clients connect with him online for advice on improving their sport performance, physique, or overall health. He prepares virtual training programs and nutrition plans with them.
One aspect of improving an athlete’s performance, he says, is to assess their habits away from the rink.
“I’ll have them explain to me in great detail what their game day routine is and I’ll find flaws in their routine and ways that we can actually improve.”
For Pambrun, working at the Jets development camps will make him as much a student as a coach. He anticipates that the mentorship he receives from these NHL coaches will translate into making him an even better coach to the Nighthawks this fall.
“Everything that we’re going to be doing here at this camp falls in line with everything that I currently do with the Nighthawks,” he says. “Being able to see what the NHL does at their level is going to give me a little bit more insight that can translate into the work that I do with the Nighthawks.”