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Lying about height and does it still matter that much anyway?

BladeRunner66

BladeRunner66

Two-Headed Jerk
Oct 23, 2017
1,164
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Nowadays with the quicker game and stronger rules implementation, it seems like smaller guys have a better opportunity to show what they're capable of.

While being larger can be a... big asset (if you're not a slow skater that is), in today's game, quicker hand and reflex combined with good hockey I.Q. looks like the biggest asset out there with speed. Smaller guys generally seem to have at least the quickness thing going for them.

Now don't get me wrong, bigger guys tend to be fast (skating speed) based on longer strides although at some point they're just too heavy to be effectively faster, gravity sucks.


This said my question is, why are players, agents, league still lying about height if it doesn't matter that much anymore? (...and is this lying shit trending down? I would think so but i hardly have any stats to base this assumption on)


I thought about starting this thread after hearing Danny Brière talk on the radio. He said some hockey cards listed him at 5'10'' while in fact he's a little under 5'9''. NHL does list him at 5'9'', has the league been trying to cut down on that BS in recent history?

On a side note you can cite examples of discrepancies between 'official' and the real heights of players if you feel inclined to do so.


p.s. Irony bonus, 'unreal' video games don't have such discrepancies...
 
Paul Kariya just stated they listed him at 5'11 185 when he was like 5'9 165 or something like that, he was really off.
 
I’m pretty sure Gaudreau is listed as 5’9 on a lot of places but there’s absolutely no way he’s that tall. I’d say he’s probably closer to 5’6
 
It starts in juniors. The league pretty much makes up random stats and everyone parrots them until the combine. By then everyone has an incorrect idea of the stats. Then after the draft the NHL makes up slightly more accurate stats and nobody cares enough to change that system.

Honestly I don't care about the accuracy of the height/weight numbers. I just like laughing at the really obvious discrepancies like 2 teammates that are clearly different heights both being listed at 6'1.
 
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dechire said:
It starts in juniors. The league pretty much makes up random stats and everyone parrots them until the combine. By then everyone has an incorrect idea of the stats. Then after the draft the NHL makes up slightly more accurate stats and nobody cares enough to change that system.

Honestly I don't care about the accuracy of the height/weight numbers. I just like laughing at the really obvious discrepancies like 2 teammates that are clearly different heights both being listed at 6'1.
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Thanks for what seems like a most rational and accurate (... pun intended) answer, sure makes sense to me. :thumbu:

Just for fun, ESH says Gaudreau is listed 5'9'' (NHL .com does) and i agree he looks 5'6'' (at best), anyone knows how PlayStation actually list him?
 
Back when obstruction, clutching, and grabbing was the norm in the league, it was harder for younger guys to find the time and space.

Now though, with rules deliberately enforced to encourage more offense, the skilled guy can now thrive regardless of whether he's 6'4" or 5'8".
 
One team that has decided to be transparent with heights and weights is Toronto. Connor Carrick was recently talking about how they subtracted an inch from his normally listed height after measuring him at training camp.
 
It obviously matters to scouts and people in charge of drafting, but it shouldn't matter that much anymore because the league is nothing like how it was for small players in the 80's, 90's, etc.
 
leospaceman3434 said:
One team that has decided to be transparent with heights and weights is Toronto. Connor Carrick was recently talking about how they subtracted an inch from his normally listed height after measuring him at training camp.
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Interesting, on a similar note was it Hitchcock who recently declared that 'hiding' injuries by talking about either 'upper body' or 'lower body' injury is useless as everyone eventually figures it out anyway?

Unless i'm mistaken Dallas now has a transparent policy about that, i guess it should be the same with height... Even though in this case (like dechire said) it probably has more to do with updating stats lazyness than with useless pseudo-tactical advantage.
 
ESH said:
I’m pretty sure Gaudreau is listed as 5’9 on a lot of places but there’s absolutely no way he’s that tall. I’d say he’s probably closer to 5’6
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Gaudreau's not 5'9 but at the same time he's definitely not 5'6. I think he was back in college but 'they' said he gained an inch and a half since. I'd say he's 5'8 at most.
 
There's guys who say they're taller on their back than they are on their feet.
 
DeBrincat was drafted 39th overall despite insane numbers in juniors, and the only knock against him (other than having great teammates) was that he's short. Just saying.
 
No Fun Shogun said:
DeBrincat was drafted 39th overall despite insane numbers in juniors, and the only knock against him (other than having great teammates) was that he's short. Just saying.
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Many scouts said Kailer Yamamoto had "top 10 skill" in the draft class but we got him in the 20s because of his height. If it wasn't a weak draft year he probably would have slipped from the first round.
 
It's always been that way. The guys above 6 feet are honest, the guys below bump it up a few inches.

loads of players are listed at 5-9 to 5'11, and standing next to them I've towered over them at 6'1.
 
I'm 6'1" in my shoes and I'm taller than 95% of the people I meet. I find it hard to believe that 95% of the NHL is my height or taller than me.

Also, if you watch soccer, you regularly see guys that are 5'5", 5'6" and if you're 6'0" or 6'1" you're considered a big man. I know soccer is a smaller sport in general, but again, I find it hard to believe.
 
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Height should be pretty irrelevant. Weight makes a far bigger difference. NHL always has a lot of heights off. I've been around a lot of hockey players in person and have been amazed at how short and tiny some of them are. When I was younger, I was 5'11" (I have shrunk some over the years). I have stood beside guys like Tie Domi (who used to list at 5'10"....I would say 5'8" at best) and Valeri Bure (would list at 5'11" and 180..was shorter and WAY smaller weight wise). Not sure how Mike Foligno can be 6'2" because I have been beside him as well in street clothes. Some are legitimately big.
 
I think a lot of it is a pride/security thing. Just look at all the people in the past that say "height matters". Even today, height knocks players down or raises them in draft rankings.

Just thinking back to high school, there was a graduating class group called the "6 foot high club". Lots of the jocks were short of that magical 72" mark, but they joined anyway and stood on their toes in photos. Definitely a societal thing to some extent.
 
Machinehead said:
I'm 6'1" in my shoes and I'm taller than 95% of the people I meet. I find it hard to believe that 95% of the NHL is my height or taller than me.

Also, if you watch soccer, you regularly see guys that are 5'5", 5'6" and if you're 6'0" or 6'1" you're considered a big man. I know soccer is a smaller sport in general, but again, I find it hard to believe.
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These are pro athletes in a sport where size matters. Steps Curry is small in the NBA but he probably gets asked "how tall are you, do you play basketball?" by random people who have never met or heard of him. Yes, basketball is more height based than hockey, but hockey players are still tall. I've seen these guys in person and yes they have skates on but they're still tall men either way.

I also don't think 95% of the league is listed above 6'?
 
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