CRANBERRY TWP — When it comes to professional hockey, a players time on the ice is important, but what a player does off the ice also counts toward a healthy career.

At the UPMC Sports Performance Center, former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Gary Roberts is overseeing the training of professional hockey players and athletes from other sports and skill levels.

The performance center is part of the new UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.

Roberts, a 21-year NHL veteran and training expert, said he thinks players in general are paying a lot more attention to what they need to do as an elite athlete to have a chance at longevity in the sport.

Roberts said he believes the reason why he was able to play into his 40s was because of how he prepared himself away from the rink.

“It is not just what you do on the ice, it is what you do off the ice,” Roberts said. “Now I have an opportunity to share that with a lot of young players.”

Now with the season being extended into June for the Stanley Cup finals, the recovery and training window has shrunk for these athletes, Roberts said.

“There is no reason in my eyes that the NHL should be going to mid-June for the Stanley Cup final,” Roberts said. “There is no need for it.”

He said there needs to be a way to condense the schedule to get it done before the middle of June, because players don’t have the opportunity to train.

“These teams that are going back-to-back have so much limited time for training and rehab in the summertime,” Roberts said. “It is eventually going to affect those players’ careers.”

Roberts said he truly believes players need three months away from the game to rejuvenate and rehab their bodies and get prepared for another season.

One of the focuses of his training is proper nutrition.

He said if a player sticks to the basics of proper hydration and good nutrition the player is doing his body a service by giving it the nutrients and the minerals needed for recovery.

“If they are not fueling their bodies properly they’re not going to have a chance to play well for a long period of time,” Roberts said.

Roberts said the training he offers the public is the same as given to the Pens players.

“I think we will develop some great hockey players,” he said.

He said the training he offers crosses over into other sports.

Roberts is working with athletes on a pro level, but also is working to develop youth athletes.

Roberts said with the youth it is about developing consistency in their routine.

As a youth hockey player they should know the importance of warming up and good nutrition.

Roberts said physical training starts with a strong core.

He said a lot of what is done is called “pre-habbing” to avoid injury.

“If we get them good and strong at a young age then everything around their core will strengthen faster and be healthier,” he said.