Vegas defenseman Noah Hanfian scored a goal in Wednesday's 3-2 preseason home loss to the Los Angeles Kings.
LAS VEGAS -- Noah Hanifin is counting on a productive offseason to translate into potentially one of his best campaigns.
The 27-year-old registered 12 points (2 goals, 10 assists) in 19 games with the Vegas Golden Knights last season after being acquired from Calgary in a three-team trade. But with plenty of time to get his body ready for what will be his 10th year in the league, he said he's felt stronger during camp and is ready to contribute in a season he might be the team's leader in time on ice.
"When you're a little bit younger in your career, you want to build that strength, get stronger," Hanifin said. "I think now, as I start to play more games, get a little bit older, it's kind of about maintenance and mobility and injury prevention and things like that.
"Just making sure I can stay healthy throughout the season."
The defenseman scored one of Vegas' two goals in Wednesday's 3-2 preseason home loss to the Los Angeles Kings. He also led the Golden Knights in playing time (26:53) while finishing with three shots and a blocked shot.
It's the durability Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy is counting on, as he'll likely be paired with Nic Hague after the two established solid chemistry toward the end of last season.
Hanifin said to prepare for a full season with defensive-minded Vegas, he's focused on a mixed bag of training to make sure he can absorb the punishment of his tenth season.
"When I was younger, it was a lot more of explosive lifting," Hanifin said. "We still do that to a degree. I mean, you still need to build that strength. Every offseason has those different phases, where at the beginning you're kind of just prepping your body for the summer in the offseason, then you kind of get into a little bit of strength training and get that explosiveness back."
Now, however, Hanifin has honed in on his core strength, knowing his midsection controls the mobility in his hips and hamstrings. He credited Vegas' strength coaches for designing specific programs to ensure the end result will produce explosiveness from a well-built frame.
He also knows recovery is just as important, which is why he always gets deep-tissue work.
"Some guys prefer dry needling or things like that, I always like getting the tissue work in and try to make it a habit of doing it at least once a day," Hanifin said. "Over the course of the season, you get so many bangs and bruises and physical contact, you need to make sure that your tissue's healthy and you're eating right, you're hydrating and things like that."
Finally, in having time to bond with the players who had already established themselves as leaders in the locker room, he's hoping he can lend his experience to an eight-year franchise that is down to just three original members from the team that joined the league in 2017.
"I think now I'm feeling really comfortable around here, I know all the guys," he said. "I'm at that point in my career now where I think I can bring a little bit more of that to the table and that's what we need to be a successful team."