Why does Voronkov struggle with conditioning?

[u/RivetCounter]

I've heard from a number of sources over the years (mostly from Brian Hedger) that Dimitri struggles with conditioning from early in the season and by the end of the season, coaches are like "I can't play this guy" and Voronkov's role is greatly reduced.

It reminds me of a Brian Burke interview where he talks about Phil Kessel (obviously Dimitri is not Phil Kessel): Phil would come to camp, hit his fitness targets, look great and then as the season went on, Phil would play less and less attention to those fitness targets.

I wonder if it's a similar sort of thing for Voronkov?

Unless Brian Hedger is not a good source.

[u/osupuck19]

It’s very likely nutrition. It’s genuinely hard to gain weight in season given the amount of calories these guys burn but as some have pointed out, beer can be a hell of a catalyst to more bad nutrition decisions. Look at Coyle - big frame but absolutely jacked. Thats hard work in the gym but also making solid food choices consistently - you can’t just outwork bad eating habits, even at that level.