Pavel Buchnevich
"Pavel Buchnevich The Fake"
On the other hand, the SC champ the last three years had like 1-2 total defensemen sub 6'0. Cale Makar, who I don't think I need to explain why he'd be an exception. And then you can kind of argue Girard, who played less than half of the playoffs. Girard himself is a really good player, and even with a top 10 pick of a small defenseman you cannot guarantee you'll get a player that good.
I wouldn't ignore what results in success in the NHL. There's a reason the best GM's like Brisbois, Yzerman, Sakic are putting an emphasis on size with their defenseman decisions. Doesn't mean smaller defenseman don't have a role, but it's still a game of roles. You can't just throw 19 players out there on any given night and expect the tactical part of the game to not matter.
As it relates to Allen, we'll see have to see what his height ends up being at the combine. People say size doesn't matter or we shouldn't talk like that, but then you see Joakim Kemell go 10 spots lower than expected probably almost entirely because he measured in at shorter than 5'10 when his expected height was 5'11. He may not even accurately be 5'9, but this stuff matters to NHL teams. If you are a smaller defenseman, you better really stand out in other areas. Otherwise, teams have shown they will hold it against players. Allen being a well-rounded player who may lack height and may not be an elite offensive defenseman is going to have these parts of his game picked apart for the next year until it's proven they shouldn't be. For now, I would say they are valid talking points, especially if we are talking about him as a top 5-15 pick.
