Does size matter in hockey?

[tsujimoto74]

There just aren't enough 6'10" - 7'6" guys with equal skill and speed compared to the mass of more "normal" sized people. But if there were, you bet they would dominate the game.

Getzlaf is skilled and a big body (6'4"), but what if he played against a 7'0" version of himself? Or if there was a 7'1" behemoth with the hands of Johnny Gaudreau?

All other things being equal, the big guy wins.

How good would Chara be if he was 5'10"?

Right, but that's kind of my point. You don't find big guys who can skate or have skill often. Those things are harder to do when you're that tall. With your example, when we shrink Chara down, is he still the terrible skater he is at 6'9", or does he skate like an average 5'10" NHLer? Because, if it's the latter, he's still a damn good hockey player, though obviously a very different one than the real version.

 

[Juicy Pop]

I think everyone takes a 6'4" Crosby at a surface level but the real root of the question is whether it's even possible for him have the same agility, hands, etc. as his 5'11" variant? Does it even matter if he doesn't at that size?

 

[Prairie Habs]

Its one way to win, but its not the only way to win.

It also doesn't win on its own.

 

[HansonBro]

Im taking team Lindros over team Crosby

 

[Prairie Habs]

Im taking team Lindros over team Crosby

Kind of a funny choice considering Lindros' size kept him from learning how to protect himself while developing and ended up costing him his career. Crosby on the other hand had concussion issues but is a smart enough player that he never puts himself in those situations anymore.

 

[FissionFire]

Some Successful small players would be:

Ted Lindsay
Theo Fleury
MSL
Gaudreau
Hudler
Enstrom

The list of small guys who couldn’t make it though is massive.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

Yeah it matters, but if there's a perfect player with every tool imaginable they'd go first overall. Teams have to make concessions when looking at other players, and size is an area that can reasonably be overlooked

 

[HansonBro]

Some Successful small players would be:

Ted Lindsay
Theo Fleury
MSL
Gaudreau
Hudler
Enstrom

The list of small guys who couldn’t make it though is massive.

Adding Gilmore, Savard, Kane, DeBrincat....

 

[LeHab]

It is less of a factor than it used to be but still a factor. Still very important for goalies. Rarely you will see a goalie below 6'.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I think with ultra skilled guys it's less important. I agree with those saying that with height comes greater difficulty in agility, coordination, etc. If you go the opposite direction you find guys with shiftiness you'd just never see in a 6 foot dude. If that ability is used effectively enough, shiftiness can make up for some of what is lost in strength/weight. Go around the player instead of through them.

Derek Roy, Briere, Byron, Ennis, Gerbe- all were decent enough at what they did. You just gotta have really high level skills to make a difference, and Caufield has that.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Individually? Not so much.

Collectively? 100%. A team of smurfs is not getting through the playoffs.

 

[FissionFire]

Adding Gilmore, Savard, Kane, DeBrincat....

Gilmour was actually not small for his era. He was 5’11” about 180-185lbs which is pretty much on par with many other elite forwards like Yzerman (5’11” 185), Sakic (5’11” 190-195), Datsyuk (5’11” 190), Oates (5’11” 190), etc. Being 5’11” and 180-200 pounds is actually a very normal size for players even during the DPE when size was emphasized the most. I wouldn’t consider Doug Gilmour undersized especially when compared to guys who are 5’8” and smaller and weigh closer to 160. Even Patrick Kane isn’t really all that small he’s more like a little under average (5’10” 180). I consider guys like DeBrincat (5’7” 165), MSL (5’8” 180), Fleury (5’6” 180), and Lindsay (5’8” 165) to be undersized players.

 

[Future GOAT]

Yes. Gaudreau is a good example, good in the regular season but in the playoffs with the big trucks coming to hit him he fizzles out because he's afraid to get hurt due to his small stature, and him being afraid to get hit hurts his offensive game.

So size does have it's impacts.

 

[NobleSix]

Meh, you probably wont feel bad for Cole when he's an elite player making over 10 million a year in his prime.

I'm sure all the short jokes and doubts just fuel him to be better. I think he'll end up with the last laugh.

Size does matter in hockey, yes. But with enough talent and drive, smaller players can easily find their place in the league.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Gilmour was actually not small for his era. He was 5’11” about 180-185lbs which is pretty much on par with many other elite forwards like Yzerman (5’11” 185), Sakic (5’11” 190-195), Datsyuk (5’11” 190), Oates (5’11” 190), etc. Being 5’11” and 180-200 pounds is actually a very normal size for players even during the DPE when size was emphasized the most. I wouldn’t consider Doug Gilmour undersized especially when compared to guys who are 5’8” and smaller and weigh closer to 160. Even Patrick Kane isn’t really all that small he’s more like a little under average (5’10” 180). I consider guys like DeBrincat (5’7” 165), MSL (5’8” 180), Fleury (5’6” 180), and Lindsay (5’8” 165) to be undersized players.

You sure Kane's actually 5'10" 180 though? Idk, he just always looks smaller to me and sometimes they inflate those things. I remember people saying Briere was more 5'8" than he was the 5'10" a lot of places had him listed as.

Anyways, Marchand, Krug, Atkinson, Zuccarello, Sergei Samsonov, Marcel Dionne, Rene Robert, etc. I really think it's an overblown concern, it's only if the player lacks the other skills that the height becomes a problem.

 

[tucson83]

coaching and goaltending matters.

 

[Plub]

When i was watching the draft, i felt bad for cole caufield have to wait to get picked. Also how the announcers kept mentioning his size.

Who are the most successful players who were considered undersized?

Also on average, what is the desired height that most scouts look for?

Did you watch the playoffs? Size and physicality are still crucial in the NHL. Yes, smaller players are seeing more success with less interference being tolerated, but the playoffs are still won by the teams that can just run you to the ground.

 

[tucker3434]

Meh, you probably wont feel bad for Cole when he's an elite player making over 10 million a year in his prime.

I'm sure all the short jokes and doubts just fuel him to be better. I think he'll end up with the last laugh.

Size does matter in hockey, yes. But with enough talent and drive, smaller players can easily find their place in the league.

If it was easy there would be more than a handful of examples.

 

[ijif]

In hockey, size matters in the sense that, in general, smaller players will have a harder time being successful at the highest of level, but small players can succeed. When it gets to the very high level, it is on a case by case basis.

It does not matter in the sense that managers seem to think: Either draft, trade for or sign inferior player Y over player X because player Y is bigger or draft, trade for, or sign player Y only because he is big.

 

[BraveCanadian]

Gilmour was actually not small for his era. He was 5’11” about 180-185lbs which is pretty much on par with many other elite forwards like Yzerman (5’11” 185), Sakic (5’11” 190-195), Datsyuk (5’11” 190), Oates (5’11” 190), etc. Being 5’11” and 180-200 pounds is actually a very normal size for players even during the DPE when size was emphasized the most. I wouldn’t consider Doug Gilmour undersized especially when compared to guys who are 5’8” and smaller and weigh closer to 160. Even Patrick Kane isn’t really all that small he’s more like a little under average (5’10” 180). I consider guys like DeBrincat (5’7” 165), MSL (5’8” 180), Fleury (5’6” 180), and Lindsay (5’8” 165) to be undersized players.

No way Gilmour was 5'11 and 180-185 in his prime.. they definitely bumped up that listing.

 

[BlueBaron]

Kind of a funny choice considering Lindros' size kept him from learning how to protect himself while developing and ended up costing him his career. Crosby on the other hand had concussion issues but is a smart enough player that he never puts himself in those situations anymore.

To be fair, the game changed. How many Scott Stevens head hunting body checks did Crosby face?

I agree that Eric was reckless, probably overconfident from being a man among boys in junior but I'm not sure we can blame his size for keeping his head down when he shouldn't.

There are a lot of qualities in hockey that are useful, size is among them. Is it everything? No. Does it help? You bet ya.

 

[NobleSix]

If it was easy there would be more than a handful of examples.

What are you talking about? There are a tonne of small players around the league that have solidified their place on their respective NHL rosters despite their size. Definetly more than a 'handful'.

 

[Rec T]

Kind of a funny choice considering Lindros' size kept him from learning how to protect himself while developing and ended up costing him his career. Crosby on the other hand had concussion issues but is a smart enough player that he never puts himself in those situations anymore.

Reading the first page I was thinking about Eric. Awesome player but he got his growth 'so' early that he just completely dominated the lower levels & I agree he didn't learn to protect himself as well as he might have if he was a bit smaller (and yes, he probably would have done much better these days without the legal head hunting of yesteryear).

As others have mentioned, bigger is better to a point. It really depends on the player & how much innate skill he's starting off with to begin with. Sadly you can't teach tall. Smaller players with equal skills as a larger player 'will' get passed over no matter how big the heart inside the body (friend has a son who is a phenomenal HS goalie, dominating the local league ... but he's 5'8" - & is having troubles even getting tryouts for colleges/jr teams. Another 6" & he'd be on a full ride scholarship somewhere).

 

[Seanaconda]

Kind of a funny choice considering Lindros' size kept him from learning how to protect himself while developing and ended up costing him his career. Crosby on the other hand had concussion issues but is a smart enough player that he never puts himself in those situations anymore.

They also made the checks that killed lindros illegal and suspended the hell out of anyone that did them once Crosby got his neck thing

 

[OppositeLocK]

You look at guys like Datsyuk, Kane, Crosby, Kucherov, none are over 6 feet. Those are some elite guys. Then you have guys like Marchand and DeBrincat who are also dominant and even shorter.

You gotta look at a player as a whole. You can have a guy like Gauthier on the Leafs who's 6'5". Massive, but plays a cream puff soft game. Compare that to 5'11" Wendell Clark who was tough as nails and played like it.

Mike Tyson was only 5'10", and he in his prime, was easily the greatest fighter of all time, and pound for pound the toughest.