size

[neg marron]

with the emergence of players like simon gamache,pm bouchard , steve sullivan, martin st louis, trevor daley,daniel briere,and soon sidney crosby... does size still matter in the nhl today

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[X-SHARKIE]

I have to agree. I had the pleasure of sitting front row at a Sharks vs Blackhawks game this year and I realized that yes size is nice, but skill is the deciding factor. I still believe that small players can score, but you still need some size in your lineup.

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

You could add Marc Savard and Mike Comrie to that list.

Come playoff time I'd much rather have a Shane Doan on my team though.

 

[neg marron]

mind set

You could add Marc Savard and Mike Comrie to that list.

Come playoff time I'd much rather have a Shane Doan on my team though.

what if crosby lives up to the hype gretzky loves this kid afterall records are meant to be broken remember before gretz most people thought howe's records would last forever...it would be nice to see if gretz records are broken by crosby what the mind set will be then btw gretz was small by today's standards 6ft 1 180 soaking wet

 

[Gwyddbwyll]

Ohh Crosby good point

Well he's special but I dont think he's really small is he? He's 5'10 or something? Could get bigger.

 

[PhoPhan]

Size means little. However, size helps. A lot of guys who are big wouldn't be in the NHL if they were smaller. They are different. You don't have to be big, but size often helps.

 

[Spiffy]

Talking about size... Jarmo Jokila

 

[Cariboux]

A good exemple is Mike Ribeiro from the Habs. With his 6' and 175 pounds, everyone said that he hasn't the size to success and he's having a great season. He's small and not a fast skater, so the most important thing to develop for these players IMO is to have a good puck protection and a good positionning

 

[Flames Draft Watcher]

Size definitely has an impact. Those guys you listed are doing well in the NHL because they have elite skill levels which make up for their lack of size. If you are a small player you have to better in many areas or the bigger player will be better. It is a disadvantage to be smaller and weaker. A disadvantage that not every skilled small player can overcome. Generally the small guys have to be fast, extremely strong for their size and more determined than some in order to make it in the NHL. You know you're going up against 6'2+ 200+ lb defensemen every night and you have to have a way to beat them whether it be pure skill or speed.

Size will always matter in a physical game like the NHL.

 

[Lard_Lad]

I also think we can do without the 'aryan master race' comments

Agreed with what FDW said. The little guys I've seen make it out of the WHL to the NHL generally have had amazing skills to compensate for their size - Ronning and Fleury come to mind. Nigel Dawes looks like he might be the next one, but behind him are guys like Tyler Mosienko who put up good numbers but don't really have the overwhelming skillset that eliminates the need for them to muscle past a big defenceman.

 

[Vagrant]

Size is the single most overrated aspect of prospect watching. It's the same principal that saw Zack Parise go untouched down the draft boards last year. When it all comes down to it, the NHL today is about playing mistake free hockey. With all the trapping, clutching, and grabbing, any physical advantages can be negated by the more cerebral players in the game. Under that ideology, size can sometimes be a detriment when you're discussing the play of forwards. Strength, on the other hand, can't be denied. People often confuse size with strength. If you're 6'5 but you play like you're 5'10, you're going to get tossed around and pushed into the corners. If you're 5'10 and play like you're 6'5, you're going to have success despite how big you. That's the name of the game these days, from what i've gathered.

 

[Habs4Life]

with the emergence of players like simon gamache,pm bouchard , steve sullivan, martin st louis, trevor daley,daniel briere,and soon sidney crosby... does size still matter in the nhl today

The kid is only 16 year's old!
Let the kid grow a little!!!!!

 

[Teemu]

I have to agree. I had the pleasure of sitting front row at a Sharks vs Blackhawks

its never a pleasure to watch the hawks play :p

 

[leafaholix*]

Crosby is 16... he'll hit atleast 6'0 when he's finished growing.

Sullivan is like 28 or 29... he's not young.

 

[Heathen]

I wish it didn't matter.... that way Chris St Jaques of the Medicine Hat Tigers might have a chance.

 

[RE-HABS]

Mats Naslund and Theo Fleury were great small players both an exagerated 5'6"...probably closer to 5'4".

Corey Locke could be a decent small player too if he keeps it up in the pro game.

 

[Crosbyfan]

Size is the single most overrated aspect of prospect watching. It's the same principal that saw Zack Parise go untouched down the draft boards last year. When it all comes down to it, the NHL today is about playing mistake free hockey. With all the trapping, clutching, and grabbing, any physical advantages can be negated by the more cerebral players in the game. Under that ideology, size can sometimes be a detriment when you're discussing the play of forwards. Strength, on the other hand, can't be denied. People often confuse size with strength. If you're 6'5 but you play like you're 5'10, you're going to get tossed around and pushed into the corners. If you're 5'10 and play like you're 6'5, you're going to have success despite how big you. That's the name of the game these days, from what i've gathered.

Size probably is the most overrated aspect of prospect watching. I know I'm guilty of it, but it's one of the most obvious factors when comparing players. You don't even have to watch them play! If two players are equally effective in Junior then it's a good bet the bigger guy would be better in the NHL, especially down the road, say when they hit 25. (it works just as well the other way- if you compare two equally effective 25 year olds, injury free, you can bet the smaller guy was probably better in Junior) When checking stats it's awfully tempting to check out height and weight (even though they might not be totally accurate). If there was a "speed" or "strength" column I would weigh them more but its harder to gauge and other "intangibles" even harder. Take Gilbert Brule and Guillaume Latendresse, approximately equally effective players in Junior with Latendresse's size already factored in (otherwise Brule would be clearly better). I was not surprised Brule out shone Latendresse at the U17's, and I would not be surprised if Latendresse goes ahead in the draft: Not to say Latendresse will be better come draft time (he might) but I think the scouts will go with size unless Brule is "clearly better" at that time.

 

[Epsilon]

Size is not as big a deal now as it was in the decade after Eric Lindros was drafted, when being big alone could often get you picked in the first round (see Zultek, Matt). While it's still a reasonably useful asset, teams are not afraid to take smaller, skilled players with high picks anymore.

 

[me2]

Size definitely has an impact. Those guys you listed are doing well in the NHL because they have elite skill levels which make up for their lack of size. If you are a small player you have to better in many areas or the bigger player will be better. It is a disadvantage to be smaller and weaker. A disadvantage that not every skilled small player can overcome. Generally the small guys have to be fast, extremely strong for their size and more determined than some in order to make it in the NHL. You know you're going up against 6'2+ 200+ lb defensemen every night and you have to have a way to beat them whether it be pure skill or speed.

Size will always matter in a physical game like the NHL.

simon gamache,pm bouchard , steve sullivan, martin st louis, trevor daley,daniel briere

FDW is right, size + skill is better than just skill. As good as these players are how good would they be if they were 6'2" 210 with the same skill level? I'd say quite a bit better and they could afford to be meaner.

Imagine 6'4" 230lb wrecking ball in Tootoo, just how much would he trade for at the deal line?

Theo Fluery the little ball of hate, now imagine if he was a Bertuzzi sized ball of hate. He might not have scored any more points as a giant, but he'd have left a trail of bodies in his wake.

 

[AJ1982]

The fact is smaller guys are more likely to have elite skills than big guys, smaller guys tend to be more faster and more agile.

 

[Crosbyfan]

The fact is smaller guys are more likely to have elite skills than big guys, smaller guys tend to be more faster and more agile.

I tend to agree with this, but I think the smaller guys also develop sooner and the "elite skills" suit the junior game "relatively" better and size and strength suit the NHL "relatively" better. (both are required at a higher level in the NHL, thus the "relative" term) This is at least partly because the rinks are the same size (therefore "relatively" smaller in the NHL with larger/faster players) leaving more room for skills in Junior than in the NHL. So all things being overall equal in Junior with size advantage and skill advantage factored in for the Junior game this leaves size the trump card switching to the NHL unless the rules are changed to reduce the clutch 'n grab or open up the game somehow.