It’s clear to those around him that Linus Weissbach approaches the game of hockey very differently today than at the start of his pro career one year ago. After missing much of the Amerks postseason run due to a blindside hit, the former Wisconsin Badger took it upon himself this summer to clean up his routine, focusing on nutrition and recovery, which in turn has affected his strength, conditioning and — Weissbach hopes — perhaps his consistency.
“One thing that I kind of learned quick that you need to be kind of dialed in when it comes to recovery and preparation for practice because there’s so much time on the ice and so much time travelling,” Weissbach, 24, told Spectrum News 1 Buffalo on Wednesday. “So you kind of have to make sure you get all of the right nutrition and all that stuff so you can perform, and I think that’s what I brought in this year.”
To head coach Seth Appert, the work Weissbach put in this offseason is obvious.
“His approach right now versus 12 months ago — it’s night and day,” Appert said. “Twelve months ago, you’re having to talk to him about practicing hard every day, and showing up with an intent to get better and putting extra work in the shooting room, trying to get here a little earlier, not just on time. Now, he’s one of the first guys here every morning. He’s one of the first guy in the shooting room every morning. He has a real purpose to how he goes about his daily business.”
During his senior year at Wisconsin, Weissbach ranked third in the country in points and second in assists. Now the winger is upping the ante — emphasizing consistency, and shooting over passing.
“Throughout my whole career, I think, obviously everything I’ve done I’ve had to earn,” said Weissbach. “Haven’t really been a top player in any league or anywhere. Just kind of had to work my way through things and same way, or same thing here in Rochester. I think. I’ve always believed that you have to be a dominant player at your level before you can take the next step, so I think that’s going to be the focus this year is to try to be a dominant player in all areas, in all situations and kind of have the coaches trust me in that way, and hopefully the Buffalo staff will see that down here and feel confident that I can do it up there too.”
While Weissbach re-shapes his on-ice identity, he’s helping younger players in the system develop alongside him, with a soft spot for his fellow countrymen.
“He easily could have lived alone this year. He’s mature enough to have that. But instead he’s living with Rosén and Cederqvist because they’re rookies, fellow swedes, so he can help take care of them a little bit, if they need that,” said Appert. “He’s just done so many things on and off the ice that we’re excited about.
“We might have to start the Swedish House Mafia back up again but — no I think, both of them, it’s their first year over here, it’s tough to come here alone, like I had,” said Weissbach. “Obviously last year I was alone, throughout my whole career over here I’ve kind of been — I had a swede on my college team for a few years but other than that, I’ve kind of done the whole thing on my own. So I think it’d be nice for them to kind of have me to lean on in any way and it’s an easy thing just finding housing for some people, but it’s always tough coming over to a new country, a new language, so I try to help them as much as I can.”
Weissbach says the Swedish house hasn’t done anything traditionally Swedish together yet, but anticipates some Christmas activities such as gingerbread cookies to celebrate the festive season together.