Striiker
Former Flyers Fan
Except things are almost never equal. If there's two 100% identical players, except one is 5'8'' and the other is 6'2'', then sure, you take the bigger guy. But that's never the case.All things held equal, bigger is better.
And Couts shows that it's the mix of skills, he doesn't have great speed, but he compensates with size, skill and a high hockey IQ. Size matters, whether back checking on defense, or shooting with a defender draped over him.
So EVERYTHING matters, and you have to think of the team as well, if all you have are small, speedy players, who forechecks, who backchecks, wins battles in the corners and boards, and screens the goalie in front of the net?
The beauty of guys like Couts is they make their linemates better because they can adjust their game to fit with different linemates.
Just look at the excuses being made for Weise and Lehtera. The two least skilled guys on the entire team, but you defend them because they're bigger than the smaller far superior players.
Like I said, skill and brains are always more important. Giroux proves that.