Mindlessly surfing online one day, I came across this royal hockey stat out of Mother Russia:

In an exhibition game with retired NHL players, Russian president Vladimir Putin scored eight goals. Putin's team won 18-6, with most of the 62-year-old president's goals coming on assists from ex-NHL stars Pavel Bure and Valeri Kamensky.

Digging a bit deeper, I was able to find a scouting report prepared by a US sports scout on Putin’s hockey abilities. Some highlights from the scouting report:

* "Skates fine in a straight line, but his turning radius exhibits all the grace of a 500 foot-long Russian battleship."

* "He must be well known in Russian hockey circles for having Gordie Howe’s well-educated elbows, because everybody seems to give him a wide berth – he certainly knows how to make room for himself."

* "As for the other aspects of his game, well... let’s just say his wrist shot is a little weak."

Ouch.

"Weak wrister."

"Turns like a 500 foot-long Russian battleship."

Not exactly flattering, eh?

So I decided to lend the good Prez a helping hand by giving him some pointers on how to improve his game. Here goes:

Privyet, comrade Putin!

Let's start with the ​positives, shall we?

You seem to have a natural knack for scoring goals. With speedsters like Bure and Kamensky on your line, you'll create lots of scoring opportunities no matter who you're playing against.

Plus, you know how to create space with those high-flyin' elbows like Mr. Hockey did in his heyday. So definitely keep using that to your advantage.

What worries me, however, is your movement on the ice.

Sounds like we've got some work to do with your skating and overall athleticism.

As you well know, when the legs go, you're done as a hockey player. Can't keep up with the pace of the game, can't do nada with the puck.

So here's what we're gonna do:

​First, we'll introduce some weighted squat and deadlift variations into your training. Both on one leg as well as two legs.

Nothing super heavy to begin with - just a good, challenging weight you can perform with textbook form, adding a little more resistance week to week. You'll notice an improvement in your first step quickness and general fitness levels pretty soon, I promise.

Second, we're gonna jump to increase your explosiveness. For someone with as many years of hockey under your belt as you have, we gotta keep an eye out on potential knee and low back issues.

Replicating what all the young'uns do at our gym would be inappropriate for you, so we gotta scale the intensity and volume back a bit. Low-impact jumping like box and vertical jumps, perhaps some low hurdle jumps, things of that nature would fit your situation very well.

Third, we gotta work on your stop-and-go/change-of-direction abilities. Off the ice that would include exercises like shuttle runs and agility drills. On the ice, blueline to blueline sprints with quick deceleration and immediately exploding in the other direction is one of the drills I like to use with my players.

With the right training approach, I believe you still have a few more ​productive years of hockey left in you.

Furthermore, I know you take great pride in how athletes are developed in Russia from a very young age through discipline, hard work and commitment. I dig that style and you'll be happy to hear those are also the cornerstones behind my Next Level Hockey Training System.

It's the perfect off-ice training program for a hockey aficionado such as yourself.

Not to brag or anything, but several of the players I coach have gone on to represent our National Team at the U18 and U20 World Championships, beating Team Russia many, many times in the playoffs.

Yes, the results have been that ​outstanding.

Come again, comrade?

What I've told you makes sense, you say?

And you can't wait to get your hands on Next Level Hockey Training 2.0 to see what the fuzz is about?

Why, it's patiently waiting for you right here, right now:

http://www.NextLevelHockeyTraining.com

Da​svidanya and keep scoring goals,

Yunus Barisik