It looks like less will mean more for Lower Sackville’s Ben Duffy.
The five-foot-11 P.E.I. Rocket centre reported to training camp 22 pounds lighter than he did a year ago and was one of the QMJHL’s top pre-season scorers with four goals and two assists in five games.
In an effort to get picked in the NHL draft, Duffy bulked up to almost 190 pounds last season and watched his rookie point total of 41 in 2008-09 drop to 27 as a sophomore in 2009-10.
“He lost a lot of speed due to that — he was very, very big with a lot of muscle mass,” said Rocket general manager Serge Savard Jr., who drafted Duffy fifth overall in 2008.
“He didn’t need to do that — it wasn’t the right kind of training for him.”
Duffy, a former major midget star with both the Halifax McDonald’s and Dartmouth Subways, fell off the map with last season’s struggles and wasn’t selected in June’s NHL draft.
Now that Duffy has slimmed down to 165 pounds, Savard said he is once again showing the quickness that could still make him a QMJHL star.
“He’s very, very lean, he’s got his skating back, he’s very quick on the puck,” Savard said. “We’re expecting good things from him this season.”
