Who is the Nutritionist for the NHL Team?

January 6, 2026 •

4 min read

While there is no single nutritionist for the entire league, every NHL team employs or consults with a highly qualified sports dietitian to manage their athletes' nutritional needs. These specialists are responsible for designing comprehensive dietary strategies to maximize performance, optimize recovery, and support the overall health of each player through the demanding season.

Quick Summary

Each NHL team retains a dedicated, and often registered, sports dietitian to tailor nutritional programs for their players. The role involves managing hydration, meal timing, and recovery diets, crucial for maintaining elite athletic performance.

Key Points

Team-Specific Role: Each NHL franchise employs its own dedicated sports dietitian or nutritionist, not a single expert for the entire league.
Essential Qualifications: NHL dietitians are typically Registered Dietitians (RDN) with extensive, regulated training in sports nutrition.
Personalized Plans: The core function is creating individualized nutrition and hydration plans tailored to each athlete's unique needs and position.
Performance & Recovery: Dietitians focus on strategic meal and snack timing to maximize energy for games and optimize recovery for muscle repair.
Travel Management: A key duty is managing travel nutrition to ensure players maintain proper eating habits and hydration while on the road.
Crucial Team Member: The nutritionist is an integral part of a team's larger performance staff, collaborating closely with coaches and medical staff.

No Single Dietitian, but a League of Experts

It's a common misconception that a single nutritional expert oversees all National Hockey League players. In reality, each of the 32 NHL franchises independently employs a specialized sports dietitian or nutritionist to handle the specific needs of their roster. These professionals are integral parts of the team's performance staff, working alongside strength coaches, medical personnel, and performance chefs to ensure every athlete is properly fueled for the rigors of a grueling 82-game season and playoff push. The specific personnel vary by team, with notable examples found across the league.

Meet Some of the NHL's Nutritional Experts

Numerous skilled dietitians contribute to the success of different teams. For example, Jenna Stranzl, a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN), has worked with the New York Islanders, designing foundational nutrition plans for the team. On the West Coast, Jillian Chaney, another RDN, holds the nutritionist position with the Anaheim Ducks, focusing on overall wellness and performance nutrition. In Canada, Tina Johnson has served for years as the Edmonton Oilers' team nutritionist, closely collaborating with the performance chef to provide nutritious options both at home and on the road. For the Los Angeles Kings, the team's dietitian is Kari Oliver.

The Core Role of an NHL Nutritionist

The responsibilities of an NHL team's dietitian go far beyond simply creating meal plans. They perform a critical set of functions vital for an athlete's career longevity and on-ice effectiveness:

Individualized Meal Planning: Creating customized dietary plans for each player based on their body composition, metabolic needs, and position-specific demands. This includes everything from in-season eating to off-season maintenance.
Hydration Strategy: Developing detailed hydration protocols, as dehydration can significantly impact a player's performance, skill, and recovery. This includes monitoring individual sweat rates and implementing specific electrolyte strategies.
Pre- and Post-Game Fueling: Timing is everything in sports nutrition. The dietitian ensures players consume the right balance of carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscle repair before and after games to maximize recovery windows.
Travel and Road Game Nutrition: Coordinating nutritious meals while the team is on the road, often working with hotel chefs and catering to avoid performance-hindering food choices.
Nutritional Education: Educating players on the importance of food choices, proper supplementation, and healthy habits that will benefit their bodies throughout their careers.

The Difference Between a Dietitian and a General Nutritionist

For an elite sports role, the distinction between these titles is significant. While anyone can use the title 'nutritionist', a Registered Dietitian (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) has undergone extensive, regulated training.


Feature	Certified Sports Dietitian (CSSD) / RDN	Unregulated Nutritionist
Regulation	Legally regulated health professional in most jurisdictions.	Title is often unregulated, requirements vary widely.
Education	Bachelor's degree from an accredited program, plus a supervised internship, and often a master's degree.	Education background can range from a short course to a related degree.
Clinical Focus	Qualified to provide Medical Nutrition Therapy for specific health conditions, such as diabetes or digestive issues.	Generally focuses on health promotion and wellness for healthy individuals.
Job Setting	Hospitals, clinics, professional sports teams, and private practice.	Private practice, wellness coaching, health food stores.
Credibility	Recognized by employers and the medical community as an expert.	Credibility is self-determined and not governed by a national board.

A Typical Day in a Hockey Player's Diet

To meet the high-energy demands of the sport, a hockey player's diet is carefully structured. Key nutritional principles followed by elite hockey players include:

Macronutrient Balance: A diet rich in high-quality carbohydrates for energy, sufficient protein for muscle repair, and healthy fats for inflammation management.
Consistent Meal Timing: Eating 4-6 meals and snacks per day to maintain stable energy levels and support metabolic function.
Pre-Game Fueling: A high-carb meal 3-4 hours before the game, with a smaller, carb-focused snack closer to game time.
Rapid Recovery: Consuming a mix of carbohydrates and protein within 30-45 minutes after a game or practice to replenish glycogen and start muscle repair. Chocolate milk is a classic example of a simple recovery beverage.
Focus on Whole Foods: Emphasizing nutrient-dense, unprocessed foods over fast food or empty calories, which can lead to fatigue.

The Future of Sports Nutrition in the NHL

As the science of sports performance evolves, so does the role of the nutritionist. Future trends include advanced body composition analysis, personalized hydration testing, and integrating nutrition data with performance analytics. For example, some teams might track individual sweat rates to create highly specific fluid and electrolyte replacement guidelines. The ultimate goal is to use every available tool to provide athletes with a competitive edge. To explore the broader role of sports dietetics, you can read more at Sports Dietitians Australia.

Conclusion

The answer to "who is the nutritionist for the NHL team?" is not a single person but a roster of highly trained, specialized sports dietitians, one for each franchise. These professionals are the unsung heroes of elite athletics, carefully curating the fuel that powers these high-performance machines. Their expertise in individual meal planning, hydration, and strategic recovery nutrition is a vital component of any team's success, demonstrating that in modern sports, success is built on a foundation of expert knowledge and scientific practice.

Frequently Asked Questions

NHL team nutritionists are almost always Registered Dietitians (RD) or Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDN). They hold at least a bachelor's degree in a nutrition-related field, have completed a supervised internship, and have passed a national registration examination.

Team nutritionists work with hotel chefs and team catering to coordinate healthy, performance-focused meals while the team is on the road. This ensures consistent, high-quality fueling away from the home arena.

An NHL player's diet is highly individualized. While many consume lean protein from animal sources, an increasing number may follow vegetarian or vegan protocols, carefully managed by the team dietitian to ensure adequate protein and nutrient intake.

Hydration is one of the most critical aspects of an NHL player's nutrition. Dehydration can significantly decrease performance, concentration, and skills. Dietitians use individualized hydration strategies to monitor and manage fluid and electrolyte intake.

While the primary focus is on a food-first approach, dietitians may recommend supplements to address specific needs, such as protein powders for recovery or vitamins and minerals to correct deficiencies. Supplement use is carefully monitored to ensure player safety and compliance with league rules.

The dietitian collaborates closely with strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, and performance chefs. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that nutrition plans are seamlessly integrated with training schedules, physical therapy, and meal preparation.

A common pre-game meal, eaten 3-4 hours before a game, is high in carbohydrates and moderate in protein, such as pasta with chicken or salmon with sweet potatoes. Smaller, easily digestible snacks are consumed closer to game time.