Pez68
Registered User
One thing I haven't seen anyone mention here. The age of the players. It's almost uncanny. The large majority of their starting lineup is age 25-27(seriously, like 90%) . So all men right in their physical primes. Along with almost their entire team being in their physical primes, they have like 1 guy on the entire team under 6' and 190 lbs.... Most of those guys are pretty much the perfect size for a hockey player. 6'-6'2" and 190-210 lbs... It's like they were all cut from the same mold. Then you circle back around to the age factor again, and realize that the large majority of their team has 5-7 years of PROFESSIONAL experience, playing against men....
I think this is a huge factor in their success. A roster full of young men in their prime, with a ton of professional experience, sometimes with multiple organizations, who are physically built to play hockey pretty much any way that they want... Strong enough to play a physical game with anyone. Fast enough to play a skating game with anyone. Skilled enough to make the best of their chances. Experienced enough to have high hockey IQs and play together as a team.... Add a fantastic coach and....presto! You have a really, really good hockey team.
I think this is a huge factor in their success. A roster full of young men in their prime, with a ton of professional experience, sometimes with multiple organizations, who are physically built to play hockey pretty much any way that they want... Strong enough to play a physical game with anyone. Fast enough to play a skating game with anyone. Skilled enough to make the best of their chances. Experienced enough to have high hockey IQs and play together as a team.... Add a fantastic coach and....presto! You have a really, really good hockey team.