‘Faster, bigger, stronger': London's Roobroeck brothers eye NHL dreams
It's early morning at a small gym in Hyde Park and current and future NHL players are grinding with personal trainers to make necessary gains.
'It's just more speed and cardio and getting ready for this year,' said Ryan Roobroeck, 17, a projected top 10 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft.
'Want to be in the best shape. Then, obviously, you got the NHL combine coming up, so just trying to prepare to get to your full strength, max cardio, and just be in the best shape you possibly can be.'
Roobroeck brothers London NHL
Ryan Roobroeck lifts weights at Spero Performance in London, Ont. as he trains for the upcoming hockey season. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
Coming off a 41-goal and 87-point season in Niagara, Roobroeck was a late 2007 born player, so he'll go into this draft as an 18-year-old.
Alongside the Niagara Ice Dogs phenom is his older brother, Dylan, who played his first professional season a year ago, and NHL veterans Corey Perry and Jared McCann.
Dylan is looking like a steal for the New York Rangers, who grabbed him with the 178th pick in the 2023 draft. He scored 20 goals for the AHL's Hartford Wolf Pack a year ago.
Roobroeck brothers London NHL
Dylan Roobroeck looks for a teammate on the ice while training at Western Fair Sports Centre in London, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
'I need to just get bigger and stronger, faster and keep learning,' said Dylan.
'Lower body, like the speed and acceleration and my conditioning. I'm just trying to get better there because you can always improve on those things. The game's all about speed now, so you got to be able to play fast to play up there.'
After more than an hour at the gym, the brothers hop in their car and head over to Western Fair Sports Centre, where they get on the ice with former NHL defenceman Danny Syvret, who puts them through the paces.
It's the combination of on and off ice work players need to make it to the next level.
'They've got all the skill on the ice, but they've just got to work on their first three steps and get super explosive off the line,' said Mason Mantzavrakos, a trainer at his father's, Spero, gym.
Spero, who owns Spero Performance, has been training elite athletes for more than 25 years, and now his son, a former professional player is following in his footsteps.
'We want to make them as strong as possible,' said Mason.
'It's a lot of rotational strength and a lot of plyometrics we do with these guys in here to get them going.'
Mason was first introduced to Ryan when he coached him along with Syvret in minor midget.
'He's able to score at any spot on the ice and then I got him in here [the gym] as well, and it's kind of cool because Dylan's the last guy who skated with me when I was playing before I stopped playing. I think he's ready to make the step to the NHL after either this season or next season.'
Roobroeck brothers London NHL
Dylan Roobroeck lifts weights under the watchful eye of personal trainers at Spero Performance in London, Ont. (Brent Lale/CTV News London)
Ryan was selected second overall by Niagara during a time when the franchise was in turmoil. He's stuck it out and had major gains with 13 more goals and 23 more assists than his rookie season.
He also won a gold medal with Canada at the 2024 IIHHL World U18 Championships. He'll have dozens of scouts attending every game he plays this season as he enters his draft year.
'It's something that's always on your mind because growing up as a kid, you want to make the next level,' said Ryan.
'This year just kind of do what I can just play my best every single night, give it my all and hope for the best on that draft night.'
Both Ryan and Dylan are hoping to make a big leap to the NHL and are pushing each other in the weight room.
'We've been doing that since we were little guys down in our basement,' said Dylan.
'It's always a battle here about who can do better? Who can push more weight? Who is stronger? It's good to have each other here, to push each other.'
While they are supporting and rooting for each other, the next competition may be who makes the NHL first.
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