The bigger they are, the harder they fall…for puppies, that is. That’s true of these professional hockey players from the Colorado Avalanche, who are undoubtedly formidable on the ice. But the minute a group of puppies – service dogs in training, to be precise – is let loose in the locker room, these tough guys become putty in their paws.

The adorable video shows the players cuddling, kissing, and getting down on the floor with these irresistible Labs, and enjoying playtime as much as (if not more than) the pups themselves. And wait until you see their tiny vests (the dogs’ vests, that is).

The players are so taken with the pups that one viewer recommends doing “a puppy count” just in case one of the guys decides to slip a dog into his duffel.

Another asks, “Where can I buy the calendar?”

This is highly bingeable content. I think if someone turns it into a series, it would definitely give Heated Rivalry and Off Campus a run for their money.

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Why Is Puppy Time So Good for Athletes?

Nancy Gee, a professor of psychiatry who directs the Center for Human-Animal Interaction at Virginia Commonwealth University, studies what dogs do for people under pressure — and athletes are under a very particular kind of it. The stressors stack up: bad calls, injuries, criticism, friction with coaches. For student-athletes, add the missed classes and the recovery time that eats into everything else.

What a dog does to all that is physically measurable. Cortisol drops, oxytocin rises, and during a stressful task, people with a dog present don’t see their blood pressure climb the way people without one do.

But the part that matters most for people who compete isn’t about relaxation. Gee notes that dogs help people inhibit off-task thoughts and stay present in the moment — which is a fairly precise description of what every athlete is trying to do in the minutes before it counts.

It isn’t a novelty, either. Therapy dogs have become a genuine fixture in elite sport. Beacon worked the 2024 USA Gymnastics Olympic trials, keeping gymnasts company through one of the most nerve-wracking competitions of their lives.

So yes, the puppies are adorable. They’re also doing a job.

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