Studnicka estimates he packed on over 15 pounds thanks to his summer training and is already noticing the positive effects, particularly when it comes to his skating game.
"I feel more explosive," said Studnicka. "I wasn't trying to put on all this bad weight, I was just trying to get faster, more explosive. It was just my body's time and it's kind of catching up. Fortunately, I weigh a bit more so hopefully be able to push off guys, hold on to the puck longer, just gain more explosiveness."
The Ontario native also spoke highly of the example set by Brad Marchand and the other veterans who he skated with over the summer at Warrior Ice Arena.
"[Marchy] works so hard," said Studnicka. "He barely took any time off this offseason after a very good year for him personally. [Seeing] something like that, it's easy to work hard yourself. He's been great this summer helping me with that."
Studnicka is also trying to follow in Marchand's footsteps when it comes to developing himself into a strong two-way player. It's a process that began two years ago when he led the American Hockey League with seven shorthanded goals during his first full professional season.
"There's so many guys here who play a two-way game, starting with that top line," said Studnicka. "You watch them and you see the pride that they take defensively and it's easy to follow suit. As a unit, the team has always done a really good job of playing a two-way game.
"Fortunately, last year, I got to learn a lot, got to be on the penalty kill pretty frequently. That always helps with defensive awareness. Hopefully it goes better this year too."
