Put a massive athlete on skates

[JuniorNelson]

Chara is about as big as you can go in hockey and he is a scrawny boy in the upper body. If he did build up he'd be over three hundred pounds. If he built twenty inch biceps and a fifty six chest he'd immobilize himself. He wouldn't be able to maneuver. He'd have to stop to turn. It happened to Brent Sopel. He did serious weights one Summer and came to camp thirty pounds over weight and unable to skate.

 

[jbobell98]

The NHL is a game of skill and first step speed. Giants of the kind 6'8 and up with their long limbs just dont have the coordination and first step to dominate the NHL. Its simple physics really, their body limits how fast they can turn and make those first few strides. This isnt basketball where 70% of the game relies on height.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Remember Evgeny Artyukhin? Massive human being, 6'5 260 lbs, couldn't skate or stickhandle to save his life.
I don't think there is much to gain from being that tall and that heavy.

Look at this uncoordinated giant compared to the swift and skilled David Perron. David vs Goliath in this picture

 

[General Disarray]

Nathan Gerbe

 

[Beville]

I’ve seen people mention “oh but a sumo wrestler in goal”...

Well, someone else thought they’d have a look too;

 

[hector morrison]

JJ Watt would dwarf even Chara muscle/strength wise.

Are you aware of Charas background and genetics?

 

[Rygu]

Are you aware of Charas background and genetics?

Yup, and he would still be no match for Watt assuming Watt had similar skating abilities.

 

[BlueBaron]

Your best bet for this would be to hire the biggest sumo wrestler you can find and throw him in net.

 

[Filthy Dangles]

Athleticism doesn't translate into skating ability. Elite skating ability takes years upon years and thousands upon thousands of skates to forge the muscle memory behind it.

 

[hector morrison]

Yup, and he would still be no match for Watt assuming Watt had similar skating abilities.

I realize this thread is in good fun, but yes ,skating is essential. Also, I've always felt Chara was an anomaly.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

I think a guy like Shaq would dominate whatever sport he set his mind to at a young age. It just happened to be basketball.

 

[TheJadePipe]

Guys, JJ Watt wouldn't be 290lbs if he played pro hockey. He'd be a monster for sure but you couldn't supply enough oxygen to such a muscle mass in a hockey game. He'd be completely gassed very early every game on if he carried that size in the NHL.

Wrong, Watt is a freak athlete... tons of stamina..
I think thier 4th quarter drills are brutal

 

[Rygu]

I realize this thread is in good fun, but yes ,skating is essential. Also, I've always felt Chara was an anomaly.

Oh he is, he's still the biggest player in the league at 41, and still among the best conditioned players in the league. He's as freakish as Watt, just not 6'5 290lbs like Watt.

 

[Kane One]

Throw a sumo wrestler in net and have him just stand there

I think Sports Science or whatever the show is named debunked this. The heaviest person in the world I think would take up 80% of the net, maybe it was higher. They'd be completely clueless against shots in any open area.

 

[wej20]

Remember Evgeny Artyukhin? Massive human being, 6'5 260 lbs, couldn't skate or stickhandle to save his life.
I don't think there is much to gain from being that tall and that heavy.

Look at this uncoordinated giant compared to the swift and skilled David Perron. David vs Goliath in this picture

Wasn't Artyukhin's whole deal that he could actually move pretty fast once he got up to speed? So could occasionally land a big hit on the forecheck but was pretty much useless everywhere else? If he was making David Perron look swift then he must have been slower than I remember.

 

[Roof Daddy]

Came here to say JJ, but for amusement's sake, I'll pick a player from the other major sports and focus on the athlete portion more than size.

MLB - Shohei Ohtani
Dude can do everything in that sport, why not hockey. Seems like the type who'd be good at anything he tried.

NBA - Russel Westbrook
Crazy athleticism and a motor that doesn't stop. And he's got the type of edge where he could be a Marchand type.

NFL - Marshawn Lynch
Mainly because I want to see him fill a water bottle with Skittles. And in his prime the guy was impossible to take down, does all his damage after contact.

 

[Alexander the Gr8]

Wasn't Artyukhin's whole deal that he could actually move pretty fast once he got up to speed? So could occasionally land a big hit on the forecheck but was pretty much useless everywhere else? If he was making David Perron look swift then he must have been slower than I remember.

He used to be quite fast, that's correct, I actually forgot how fast he was. I'm just biased from having watched so many games of him in the KHL being a slow and useless goon. There's a huge difference in agility.

Watch Perron turn with the puck on his stick, he can turn on a dime. Artyukhin needs as much space to turn as a fully loaded 18 wheeler.

 

[Seanaconda]

Athleticism doesn't translate into skating ability. Elite skating ability takes years upon years and thousands upon thousands of skates to forge the muscle memory behind it.

Pretty sure the assumption would be having these guys take up hockey as kids

 

[me2]

Jonah Lomu - Wikipedia
a 196cm tall and 120 kg monster athlete that could run 100meters in 10,8 seconds.

The famed Lomu J95. Devolped by NZ in response to a French incursion which sank the NZ navy in 1985. Field tested in 1995 trials, it proved almost unstoppable. The well regarded English Catt defensive system proved to be entirely useless against it. Sadly decommissioned now (RIP), rendering NZ vulnerable aginst anyone with a sharp stick and notning better to do on the weekend.

---------------

The reverse hits would be brutal. No sane Dman would want to go into corners on a dump in.

 

[Gene Parmesan]

Wrong, Watt is a freak athlete... tons of stamina..
I think thier 4th quarter drills are brutal

Watt hardly comes out of games and plays defensive end and defensive tackle depending on the front. Every play is a fist fight/wrestling match with another huge human.

 

[Beville]

I think Sports Science or whatever the show is named debunked this. The heaviest person in the world I think would take up 80% of the net, maybe it was higher. They'd be completely clueless against shots in any open area.

I put the video on this very page.

 

[RoyalDoubleMcCheesie]

I dunno if gronk would be good he seems injured prone for the NFL. Didn' he break the same arm twice or something? And the injury he suffered this year he might call it quits?

 

[TheJadePipe]

I dunno if gronk would be good he seems injured prone for the NFL. Didn' he break the same arm twice or something? And the injury he suffered this year he might call it quits?

Football is far more physical than hockey, not even in the same realm.... it’s why they only can play 16 games per season...

 

[Acallabeth]

Hockey is the game of skill, teamplay and intelligence. Being a freak athlete obviously helps in any sport, but gives a lot less advantage in hockey than in American football or basketball. Even regarding a shot, look at Panarin or Ellis who have great shots despite being pretty small and short. Also, said athlete would need to spend years to develop any kind of skill that would allow him in the NHL instead of working on his massive muscles, which would limit him anyway.

 

[hambone1818]

Fun thread discussion.

The speed of the game would eat up larger athletes, especially today with how the game is played. Chara's actually a good example, his stamina is legendary and he's an insane athlete but even at his lighter (relative) weight he can barely keep up with the speed of today's game. Someone like Watt, given elite skating ability, would be a Lindros-esque dominant player for sure but he'd be a bit of a lumbering mass on the ice compared to the smaller players. Now, he'd be able to bowl over guys on the ice and I'd love to see him lay into someone in open ice, but I'd imagine he'd have a tough time controlling the puck. I think of the best stick handlers and they tend to be shorter, quicker guys, a huge 6'9" Watt type player just wouldn't be good with the puck.

As a stay at home defenseman? I think he'd be real effective, and he'd be the ultimate enforcer type. But I don't think he'd make a good forward, and goalie is out just because it's all about quick-twitch response and flexibility, more muscle mass does absolutely nothing for that position.