Does size matter in hockey?

[Stephen]

I think you want to be open minded to the individual player and exceptional talents, but I wouldn't go and make it my mission to prove small doesn't matter when average size and bigger work just fine.

 

[Macbanan]

I think size is a positive attribute with the downside of decreasing the chances of having certain other positive attributes such as speed and mobility.

So using size as a predictor for success might find a negative correlation. On the other hand, if the high mobility and speed is granted, you would also prefer them to be big.

 

[nowhereman]

According to Paul Fenton?

Yes.

 

[Machinehead]

Size matters more in the playoffs. You need to win in the regular season to qualify for the playoffs. They do go hand and hand when building a team.

The Cup has been won by a lot of small teams.

More so than big teams.

 

[Anomie2029]

The actual size doesn't matter.

But the best teams are those that can play a fast, skilled, and physical game. You don't need to be 6'4" to play a physical game.

 

[Quicklime]

Teams need to deploy BOTH.

Small guys often leave it up to bigger skaters to do dirty work; big skaters depend on guys that can move deceptively to distribute pucks they can eat...while bigger guys can help smaller guys play heavy, smaller guys can draw attention away from bigger guys cutting into high-danger areas.

Sure, teams of all one type are special in their ways, but both are necessary for the sport!

 

[thadd]

Being small but strong for your size is one thing, but knowing that you'll be able to survive the rigors of the NHL is another thing completely. It's a huge gamble to take someone as small as Caulfield when there are other players projected to not only be good hockey players but also be much better built for the NHL. I'm personally surprised he fell as far as he did. I still don't understand why Minny and Florida both passed on him. Especially Florida.

 

[Fazkovsky]

I think it does matter to an extent

But not as much as before thats for sure. Especially for forwards, with good skating and skills you should make it if you are taller then 5’7-8

 

[tucker3434]

Nowhere did I say that there were a tonne of 5'8" players in the league. I said there were a tonne of small players in the league. Which there are. So unless you consider players 5'8" and under as small, and anything 5'9" and over as average to tall, I'm not sure what part of my post you're disagreeing with.

You specifically mentioned Caufield who’s 5-7. There are only two guys he NHL that are that size or smaller, so him falling to 15 wasn’t a product of GM’s being a bunch of ignorant dumb dumbs. They were just playing the numbers. Also with him in particular there’s the issue of his skating which is a bit of a red flag for a smaller guy. Still, well worth the risk at 15, just not at 5.

And yes, the closer you get to the NHL average of 6-1, the more guys there are. But the reason the average height of an NHL player is 6-1, 3 inches taller than your average non-athlete, is not because the league is overrun with <5-10 players. Those guys have a much, much tougher road to the NHL than their taller counterparts. If they don’t have elite skill, they end up as career AHL all stars.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

I think small guys also have to know how to play their own game. I really hate Sheary on D for this reason- he just kinda tries to body guys like he's their size, and inevitably just bounces off them. Dude needs to use his quickness to get around 'em, really don't get what he hopes to accomplish just running into opponent's backsides.

Also, what the hell to make of Jordin Tootoo? Dude's listed at 5'9" but 194 pounds- definitely a special case, but man, his whole game was hitting.

 

[SaltNPeca]

There's a sweet spot in many sports. In NHL hockey I'd say it's 5'11" up to 6'2". Generic ideal player build is around 6' 190lbs.

Being more than 3 inches or so outside the ideal starts to be a more serious issue because quite simply you're outside of the sweet-spot. This is where the big guy has to show he's co-ordinated, quick, and dexterous enough to play with smaller men. This is where the tiny guy has to show he's strong, durable, and productive enough to play with larger men.

Caufield was measured at 5'7" and one quarter @ 163lbs.
source: https://thehockeywriters.com/2019-nhl-combine-heights-weights/

There are a couple guys up at 6'5"-6'6" range, but about the same as sub 5'8" guys.

 

[Blowfish]

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?

Marchand, MSL, Fleury, Marner, Gaudreau, Debrincat, Krug, etc...

It's coming. There will be more and more smaller players however you if you're over 6 ft and have any of the skillset of the players mentioned above...well you go taller.

 

[angusyoung]

If they don't have good size then they need some exceptional attributes to make up for it. Hockey sense, speed, shiftiness. In Marty St. Louis's case legs the size of tree trunks didn't hurt either.

Need to play to their strengths indeed. Can't expect smallish players to play like Wilson.

 

[teravaineSAROS]

The Cup has been won by a lot of small teams.

More so than big teams.

no.

Atleast not by "soft" non-gritty teams.

 

[Help]

The single common denominator between cup winning teams is that they're all skilled as f***

The game is getting faster every day, time and space are becoming more and more scarce. Forgive me if I don't have any interest in a big awkward player, who requires more space, and more time. Unless he's super skilled, I have no interest in anyone 6'3 or taller.

 

[North Country]

Taylor Cammarata broke all the scoring records at Shattuck and in the USHL. He actually turned Nathan McKinnon in to a second fiddle at Shattuck and I was on here raving that Cammarata was going to be just as good, or better, in the NHL. A phenom at those levels but his 5’7” 165 pound frame held him back.

 

[North Country]

The single common denominator between cup winning teams is that they're all skilled as ****

The game is getting faster every day, time and space are becoming more and more scarce. Forgive me if I don't have any interest in a big awkward player, who requires more space, and more time. Unless he's super skilled, I have no interest in anyone 6'3 or taller.

You could be a scout for MTL and continue their successful ways!

 

[Tuna Tatarrrrrr]

HF: *Makes fun of stupid GM's and their obsession with size*

Also HF: *Half the thread is dick jokes*

Yep, there are some insecure guys here...

 

[tucker3434]

The single common denominator between cup winning teams is that they're all skilled as ****

The game is getting faster every day, time and space are becoming more and more scarce. Forgive me if I don't have any interest in a big awkward player, who requires more space, and more time. Unless he's super skilled, I have no interest in anyone 6'3 or taller.

The difference is that the 6-3+ guy can carve out a role as a bottom pairing or bottom six penalty killer. That’s not going to happen with guys on the other end of the spectrum.

 

[The S5]

The game has been moving to more speed and skill, with no sign of it changing. Size is less of a factor today and will continue to trend in that direction. It's no secret that the NHL is looking to remove certain hits from the game and fighting no longer a major influence on the game.
Guys like Gaudreau, Zucc, Johnson, Atkinson, DeBrincat and potentially Caulfield possess skills that bigger guys don't have. Heck, the Hughes boys don't exactly strike fear, phyiscally, in anyone.

Size will always be advantageous, but not at the cost of speed/skill. I just don't see the NHL going backward.

 

[I am toxic]

Teams need to deploy BOTH.

Small guys often leave it up to bigger skaters to do dirty work; big skaters depend on guys that can move deceptively to distribute pucks they can eat...while bigger guys can help smaller guys play heavy, smaller guys can draw attention away from bigger guys cutting into high-danger areas.

Sure, teams of all one type are special in their ways, but both are necessary for the sport!

Cliff Ronning on a line with Sandlak and Momesso are a classic example of this.

 

[BLNY]

Size and skill? Sure. That's great. Size, for the sake of size? Now? No. If you can't keep up with the game mentally and physically you're not going to last.

 

[Help]

The difference is that the 6-3+ guy can carve out a role as a bottom pairing or bottom six penalty killer. That’s not going to happen with guys on the other end of the spectrum.

The league's most successful penalty killers are small, quick boys, and the days of a top 6/bottom 6 dichotomy are long gone

 

[Quicklime]

Teams need to deploy BOTH.

Small guys often leave it up to bigger skaters to do dirty work; big skaters depend on guys that can move deceptively to distribute pucks they can eat...while bigger guys can help smaller guys play heavy, smaller guys

 

[North Country]

The game has been moving to more speed and skill, with no sign of it changing. Size is less of a factor today and will continue to trend in that direction. It's no secret that the NHL is looking to remove certain hits from the game and fighting no longer a major influence on the game.
Guys like Gaudreau, Zucc, Johnson, Atkinson, DeBrincat and potentially Caulfield possess skills that bigger guys don't have. Heck, the Hughes boys don't exactly strike fear, phyiscally, in anyone.

Size will always be advantageous, but not at the cost of speed/skill. I just don't see the NHL going backward.

Any opinions on the two absolute heaviest and towards the tallest teams winning the last two Cups?

I suppose it could be a coincidence that it happened, but I see game 5 of last year’s series between Washington and Tampa starting the change in thinking. Tampa seemed to be coasting in the series and then Washington changed their game plan to being all out physical. It went from small dominating through skill and then turned on a dime to size dominating through physicality with skill.

Google some of the articles of Washington’s game plan change in game 5. I know this sent the NHL teams in a different direction on how to play these smallish skilled teams and it’s why you saw so many of them have early exits this year.

Did you hear Jon Cooper’s interview during the draft? He was very clear about needing to get way bigger up front.

I see a different direction