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.
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.
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?
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.
The Cup has been won by a lot of small teams.
More so than big teams.
You could be a scout for MTL and continue their successful ways!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.
Yep, there are some insecure guys here...HF: *Makes fun of stupid GM's and their obsession with size*
Also HF: *Half the thread is dick jokes*
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.
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!
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 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.