Oilers Chick said:
There seems to be more and more emphasis being placed on how tall a player is or how much he will weigh when he finally "fills out".
Is size over-emphasized too much? Why or why not?
Is it over-emphasized to the point that it does or can supercede talent/skill?
Your thoughts
haven't read anything else posted here, but "yes, size is way over-rated" and I believe that teams are drafting for that now more than for pure skill.
Speaking from the point of view of a Montreal Canadiens fan, we spent the large part of the 90s looking for a power forward and failing to draft players who were more highly skilled. We landed such "future stars" as Matt Higgins, Turner Stevenson, David Wilke, Terry Ryan, Brad Brown, Eric chouinard and Jason Ward... Ryan, Ward, Chouinard, and Higgins were all supposed to "develop" into big bruising power-forwards. The only one to make a niche for himself so far is Ward, and it was only his work-ethic and decent skills that saved him... He's still on the bubble because his skating is weak for the NHL level. In these cases... size ruled over talent and skills.
The only justification I have ever understood for this is that you use the 1st round pick to swing for homerun type players... (picking for skill later when the players are smaller or more obscure...) the ones who can develop into monsters that will take you to the promise land by brute force... that "carry the team on your back" mentality coupled with intimidation of the opponent. Even in instances where that has worked... it can backfire. Sure, Big Bert has a mean streak and can take Vancouver on his back, but he's also probably going to jail for it. The other argument against huge size is that guys like Chara and Bertuzzi get penalties all the time for being big... not for a true infraction, but for checking someone who is a full 1ft shorter a little too high (normal height for them).
I would also split this discussion somewhat... with forwards, i think many teams still shoot for skills first, while defensemen can be taken based on size and disposition alone. The basic assumption being that you can teach defense, so you get the biggest, meanest guy out there and teach him. The other reason for big d-men is that forwards are growing to be faster and bigger and d-men can't take the beating if they are smaller. they simply become injury-prone from the abuse the league dishes out.
The real test of this will be the drafting of Crosby... he's not that big, but he's definitely more skilled. if someone larger has a great year, that gap will close surprisingly fast simply because you've got to worry about a smallish guy getting trounced, even if he's as tough as nails.