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Jesse Green isn’t your typical NHL performance expert. The director of performance and sport science for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins has already practiced his craft on two continents and numerous sports. He’s also probably the only person you’ve ever met who can tell you about the differences between Brisbane, Australia, and Louisville, Kentucky.
Green began his career with the Australian Football League’s Brisbane Lions. The athlete was inspired to move into sports science after he took stock of his professional chances early in his life.
“I wanted to play professionally, but I learned pretty quickly that wasn’t going to be an option for me,” Green remembers. “I was good at chemistry, physics, and math, and the sports science world was the right path for me.”
While his first role out of college was with a professional team—an accomplishment by any metric—Brisbane wasn’t well known for its championship-caliber play. Green is a little more blunt.
“We were really bad,” the director says. “My first three and a half years there, we were close to the worst in the league. I always have such a strong desire to win. I wanted to help push us to the postseason, to make finals, and drive the team to achieve as a collective unit.”
That drive and desire to win eventually brought Green to the US, a market with far more opportunities and the chance to compete in a far larger field.
“You cannot afford to miss a moment in the NHL. We need every data set. This is the highest level.”
Jesse Green
Australia has many wonderful things, Green says, but it’s not the pinnacle of the global sports industry.
Since 2017, Green has worked with the NCAA’s University of Louisville, followed with the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, and now, the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins roster includes scoring phenoms Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, three of the all-time leading points leaders in Penguins history.
Green says coming to Pittsburgh offered an intriguing proposition. The team has a lot of veteran talent, and part of Green’s purview is helping those seasoned stars bring their best to work. That includes the implementation of training technology and data capture.
“When I arrived, it was apparent that we had a sufficient technology suite that was being used to monitor and measure player performance,” Green explains. “Where I felt like we could improve was squeezing more out of what we already have instead of continuing to ramp up the tech.”
For example, Green dug into and tweaked the team’s on-ice tracking system to help active, injured, and developmental players get more insights about their progress, performance, and development. “We can monitor player performance and response to identify windows of trainability, where players may be more ready to take on a higher load and put in more work,” Green says. “We can turn the volume, density, or intensity of that training up or down, like a thermostat, based on the response.”
Green says external partnerships have been critical for optimizing player performance. His team employs a half dozen tech partners who handle different priorities and are on call at high-pressure moments.
“If we need something fixed for a main practice the day before a game, we have to trust that our partners are going to be there for us and do whatever they have to do to make sure we can be successful,” Green says. “You cannot afford to miss a moment in the NHL. We need every data set. This is the highest level.”
One of the Penguins’ external partners is Teamworks. “We are proud to partner with the Pittsburgh Penguins in driving innovation through connected performance,” says Brian Tatum, VP of customer success at Teamworks. “Jesse has a data-driven approach, and his commitment to evidence-based care has positioned the Penguins for success. Jesse’s ability to maximize technology while fostering genuine collaboration exemplifies the performance innovator mindset we’re excited to support.”
The director says that while the latest and greatest tech innovations are always welcome, they’re never going to lead his practice. Green’s question-based approach helps tech and data provide answers without overwhelming and obscuring the goal.
Less technologically focused, but ultimately more important, is the leadership Green brings to his role. Green is, instinctually, a servant leader who sees his role as a facilitator between multiple stakeholders: coaches, players, medical staff, leadership, and data and tech partners. The director says he sees his role as facilitator as a critical function of being a sports scientist.
“Where I felt like we could improve was squeezing more out of what we already have instead of continuing to ramp up the tech.”
Jesse Green
Green, who has dual citizenship (his mother is from Ohio), says connecting with players is essential. Green didn’t play hockey, and the players he’s working with likely didn’t play cricket, rugby, or Australian rules football, so building that relationship can take a bit of time.
“I’ve found that you need to be genuine,” Green says. “Don’t try to be someone you’re not. You’re not going to earn a player’s trust that way. That was something my family taught me at an early age, and I’m grateful for that.”
