Making Sure Kings Stay True to Form : Hockey: Valley native Rob Glantz is power-skating instructor.

Marty McSorley had been on the ice for more than three hours and it showed.

Rivulets of sweat coursed through the stubble on McSorley’s face and ran downward to drench his gray practice jersey. Similarly soaked, his trademark blond curls hung lank and close to his bare head, even as the National Hockey League veteran continued to churn his way through another Kings training session at the Iceoplex in North Hills.

Skating with McSorley were four other defensemen, all of whom had remained after practice to seek the advice and criticism of Rob Glantz, a visiting power-skating instructor.

Glantz, 30, who grew up in Encino and graduated from Birmingham High in 1982, tours the United States and Europe honing the skating form of players from the novice to professional levels.

Ironically, it was because Glantz was unsatisfied with his own blade-running that he became affiliated with Laura Stamm, one of power-skating’s pioneers. Stamm, a former figure skater, was one of the first to teach hockey players how to maximize power from each stride by improving their form.

By applying concepts such as full-length strides, center of gravity and correct angles for bending the knees, many players can increase their speed and agility.

Glantz knows of few other NHL teams that employ a skating coach, though many summer hockey camps and high schools and college teams use them. Undaunted by the lack of power-skaters dispersing advice at the pro level, Glantz contacted the Kings last season and was an immediate hit once the coaches brought him in.

Because of his schedule, Glantz has limited his time with the Kings to the last two training camps. But even with limited exposure, his impact has been considerable.

Glantz’s broad focus for Thursday afternoon’s session was backward skating form and pivoting technique. For close to 45 minutes his charges worked their way up and down the ice and through footwork drills as Glantz analyzed their style.

“He listens first, takes it all in and explains exactly what’s needed,” said Rob Blake, a 1993-94 NHL all-star. “Everyone skates differently and he’s not trying to change your style. What’s gotten you here has worked and he works with the style you already have.”

Most of the players Glantz instructs grew up in locations where hockey is the highlighted winter sport and many children learn to skate soon after taking their first steps. Glantz, however, rose to the level of teaching professional while based in the Valley, long before the arrival of Wayne Gretzky and the success of the Kings increased area interest in the sport.

“I learned to skate at 5 years old and I was so bad they put me in goal,” Glantz recalled with a laugh while sitting in the Kings’ narrow locker room at the Iceoplex. “The ice surface we played on was no bigger than this room. The sport wasn’t booming but there were quite a few kids playing.”

Following his older brother, John, up the youth hockey ladder, Rob made several regional All-Star teams and was leading scorer on Cal State Northridge’s club team in the mid-1980’s. Despite his performance, Glantz was unsatisfied with his skating and sought out Stamm, who earned attention in the California hockey community for improving the skating of former King Luc Robitaille.

Stamm took Glantz under her wing, immersing him both in her philosophies and her business. After teaching part-time for several years and increasing his contacts in the hockey world, Glantz began training players and teams in Western Europe and made power-skating his vocation.

“The little things Robbie says make sense right off the bat,” McSorley said. “I know I’m missing something in my skating and the differences between gaining a half and a whole stride are so much of what he is saying.”

Although adjectives such as “lumbering” and “plodding” have been used to describe McSorley’s skating, he has lasted 11 years in the NHL on grit and a determination to improve.

“It’s going to take me longer (to improve) than a 19- or 20-year old because I have some pretty defined habits, but I skate every day so why can’t I learn every day to be a better player?” McSorley said.

Glantz said he loves working with professional players and finds them accepting of his instruction.

“The guys aren’t as skeptical as they used to be,” Glantz said. “I realize why they’re professionals because they take nothing for granted, they’ll do anything to get better.”

Glantz also conducts public clinics in the United States and abroad. He will oversee one such session Thanksgiving weekend at the Pickwick Arena in Burbank.

“A few times I’ve been in a game and something he taught me suddenly comes naturally and it’s a great, positive experience,” said forward John Druce of the Kings. “I think ‘I’m really glad he taught me that.’ ”