Sam Gagner feels energized as he aims for a 17th NHL season. But he's also developed a hockey program that trains kids and pros, including Bo Horvat and Taylor Hall.
Sam GagnerNHL veteran Sam Gagner gets a kick out of how Taylor Hall and Bo Horvat carpool to their summer skates in Muskoka.
Hall’s cabin is a 40-plus minute drive to Muskoka Lumber Community Center, where Gagner’s company, Muskoka Hockey, runs their pro skates. Horvat’s cottage, though, is a five-minute drive from the rink.
“Hall will hop on his Jet Ski and drive five to 10 minutes across the lake to Bo’s place, and then Bo drives him to the skate,” Gagner said with a laugh. “He’ll be sending me Snapchats of him on his Jet Ski on the way to the rink. To me, it doesn’t get better than that.”
This is part of what makes Muskoka Hockey so unique. The company trains some of the NHL’s best-known names in cottage country.
“We have the best of both worlds up here,” Gagner said. “The skates that we run are probably the best you’ll find anywhere in the summer. And then you get to enjoy your off time with your family and be on the lake.”
Hall, Horvat, John Tavares, Brandon Montour and Adam Henrique were among the dozen-plus NHL players who trained at Muskoka Hockey all summer. Days after the Toronto Maple Leafs named Auston Matthews captain, he trained for a week at Muskoka Hockey while staying at Tavares’ cabin. Sometimes, 25 to 30 different players partake in a given week.
“In the summertime, you want to work on your individual skills, and you can do that by yourself, but the true test is doing it against NHL-caliber players, and we’ve got a ton of that,” Horvat told The Hockey News. “Sam’s got a good thing going here. And it hasn’t happened overnight.”
In fact, ramping up Muskoka Hockey has helped 35-year-old Gagner in three different ways after 16 seasons of NHL hockey. He's maximizing his summer with his family. He's training hard in hopes of prolonging his NHL career. And he's built the foundation for something he can continue to develop after his player career ends.
The Edmonton Oilers drafted him sixth overall from the OHL's London Knights in 2007. Since then, he's been a popular player on seven different teams, including the Vancouver Canucks, Detroit Red Wings and Winnipeg Jets.
Gagner split last season between the Oilers and their AHL affiliate in Bakersfield. But he's not done yet. He is reportedly expected to try out for the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the 2024-25 season, per PuckPedia. (While Gagner said on Tuesday he would be signing a PTO in the coming days, he didn't mention the team.)
While he helps other NHLers improve their skills and endurance at camp, he's also focusing on himself at a new place on his career arc.
"Muskoka Hockey’s given me such a great balance of high-level training, while also getting to enjoy the rest of my day with my wife and kids," Gagner said.
Sam GagnerWhile Gagner has been running skates out of Muskoka since 2016, things ramped up over the last three summers. Since 2022, the number of players participating in Muskoka Hockey’s pro group has nearly doubled annually.
In that same span, the company has launched youth programs — an academy program for kids aged 14 to 18 years old, along with day camp summer programming for younger kids.
Gagner assembled a team of industry experts to make everything run smoothly. He met with his staff throughout the year to prepare for the summer, even during his hockey season.
That group includes Brady Leavold, who leads all on-ice training from the pro group to the summer day camps. Leavold is a former pro hockey player who has become a well-known mental health advocate after sharing his battle with addiction, and he is Gagner’s right-hand man in all on-ice aspects.
"Sam and I were the ones creating the on-ice programs," Leavold said. "We're always bouncing ideas back and forth, whether it's sending clips from games or drills we'd see on Instagram."
In addition to Leavold, Muskoka Hockey has had several guest coaches over the years — including former NHLer and skills guru Adam Oates.
“Sam’s very methodical in what he does, the people he brings in and the sort of environment he creates,” Leavold said. “He’s always listening and open to learning from everybody that’s around him.”
While Muskoka Hockey may make headlines for the pro players who train there, Gagner wants to play an important role in the local area for years to come. In late August, he opened one of their skates to the public, with several players staying late to sign autographs.
Gagner, a father of three young children, takes pride in the day camp programming focusing on more than just hockey. Hockey-related training on and off the ice is a focal point, but a good chunk of the day has non-hockey summer camp activities.
“It’s really important for kids to have balance at a young age and play different sports and have other interests and focuses,” Gagner said. “Learning how to manage different things not only helps with hockey but just life in general.”
Having that balance is important for everyone involved, especially for the longtime NHLer who's now a father, husband and leader in the later stages of his NHL career. But when it comes to hockey, Gagner's feeling the best he has in quite a while.
"This was the first summer in three or four years where I was fully healthy and I was able to train properly and fully push myself," Gagner said. "I'm coming into the season a lot more refreshed and energized. I think the training I've done up in Muskoka will do wonders for my longevity."
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