It's a trait that only matters if the player actually uses it effectively. Plenty of big guys out there that don't use their size to their advantage and "play small" just as there are smaller players that "play big."
Does size matter less than before in the NHL?
- Thread starter Montreal Shadow
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My wife has this tattooed on her, should I be concerned?
She calls it the "Lane of Spades" which is how we met (our mutual love of Lane), but could it mean something bad?
She calls it the "Lane of Spades" which is how we met (our mutual love of Lane), but could it mean something bad?
Fatass
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- Apr 17, 2017
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True. But it was the reverse years ago. Heavy guys struggled on old tube skates and soft ice, so were rare. Goalies’ equipment was super small because of rules and how it absorbed water and got too heavy to move quick, so smaller goalies were preferred. The number of heavy bodied guys grew with advances in tech.
I think there have been a number of factors. Tech being one. I wonder what effect the rule changes have had. Would less clutch and grab make it harder or easier for small players?
Turin
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- Feb 27, 2018
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Size definitely still matters in the playoffs unless you have a clear advantage elsewhere like Edmonton having 2 of the top 3 forwards in the league, or back in 2016/17 when Pittsburgh was faster than everybody. But since almost every team has a pretty high baseline speed now, size definitely still factors in.
Fatass
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Go look up how heavy players were in the nhl 50’ to 70’ to 90’. As tech changed the heavier bodies were able to skate better. Rules of interference off pucks impacted players, but that occurred after the heavy bodies became to dominant player attribute.
Worth noting, though, is the plateau and slight decrease since the 2004 lockout. Whether teams are realizing a tipping point where too much skill is traded off for size,
Maybe it went up again, since 2014, but it has not been an always going up affair
It's actually going up, per TheAthletic's annual sizing up the NHL series.
The league average height was roughly 73.2 inches in the above chart from the late 90s through 2014, and still 73.2 a few years ago, but has recently jumped up to a record high 73.6, inching closer to 6'2.
League average weight had dropped to just under 200, 198.8 three years ago, but is now back up over 200, at 201.1. The league didn't actually get shorter after the rough deadpuck era, but players did get leaner. Now the weight is moving up along with the height.
League average age is also going up significantly, from 27.6 in 2021-22 to 28.3 this year. You can also see the age of the top 20 or top 50 scorers is going up.
Anyways I look forward to more comments that assume the league is now friendlier to small players and that it's a young man's league now. The league is neither of those things.
