Shortest/Smallest players ever to play in NHL?

[ihaveyuidonttouchme]

I know N.Gerbe is about 5'5 178ibs and is one of the shortest players to date
but i wonder who holds the record for the smallest "stature" for [edit]each position? did they made any significant impact to their team?

 

[DaftCaptain]

Roy Woters at 5'3" tall

The shortest player who has played in the NHL was Roy Woters who measured 5 feet, 3 inches tall. He served as goaltender throughout 1925-1937. He played 484 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens.

http://lastwordonsports.com/2014/07/23/20-fun-random-facts-about-hockey/

 

[tarheelhockey]

Gerbe is only a couple of inches taller than Roy Worters, who had a Hall of Fame career in goal.

Edit: By the way, Darren Pang claims he wore extra socks and small sandbags while taking height and weight measurements at his rookie camp, which is why he was listed at 5'5" rather than 5'4". So unofficially, it's probably the case that Pang was actually the shortest player ever.

If you're looking for skaters, Bobby Lalonde was 5'5" and a mediocre center for the Canucks, Flames and Bruins during the 1970s. Unless I'm forgetting someone, the next shortest skater after Lalonde and Gerbe would be Theo Fleury, who had a pretty good career.

 

[Killion]

...Theo Fleury, who had a pretty good career.

.... Wow. More "Little People" talk huh tarheel? Right now Im having amnesia & deja vu
at the same time which is prolly a good thing for the sanctity & integrity of this thread.

 

[kmad]

Hal Gill, Darren Pang, Pekka Rinne

 

[Killion]

^^^ ya, that shot never fails to crack me up. Incredible huh?

 

[tarheelhockey]

.... Wow. More "Little People" talk huh tarheel? Right now Im having amnesia & deja vu
at the same time which is prolly a good thing for the sanctity & integrity of this thread.

Supposedly Theo spent his offseasons in a tunnel under the Saddledome... or baking cookies inside a tree, can't remember which.

 

[Tam O Shanter]

Hal Gill, Darren Pang, Pekka Rinne

insane pic - but they ARE wearing skates, no?

And is Gerbe seriously 180 at 5'5?? That is thick!

 

[crobro]

Grigory pantileevs

 

[DJ Man]

Camile Henry was listed at 140 lb ... I think.

 

[tarheelhockey]

And is Gerbe seriously 180 at 5'5?? That is thick!

I'm not speaking figuratively when I say his thighs are like tree trunks.

 

[crobro]

I'm not speaking figuratively when I say his thighs are like tree trunks.

Could possibly pass for a Turkish Olympic powerlifter.

 

[Killion]

Camile Henry was listed at 140 lb ... I think.

Camille the Eel. Ive seen him variously listed from that weight range to 153+lbs, 5'10" though so not small as per the era in which he played. Still your quite right. Featherweight practically.... Stan Jonathon was only 5'8" but he took on all comers. Real Spark Plug. Tragically in 2012 while Hunting on 6 Nations Reserve Land (near Hamilton Ontario) where he lives apparently accidentally shot another Hunter & was charged with Criminal Negligence causing Death.
No idea what the disposition is of that case but he was facing up to 4yrs in Jail...

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

Tam O' Shanter - The name even sounds like a short, wee man. Maybe a Leprechaun?

 

[VanIslander]

Size is relative to era!

Roy Worters was 5'3 when 5'10 was "tall".

This guy looked TINY in the late nineties, early 2000's against Lemieux, Samuelsson, Hatcher, Pronger & co.

Clutch-performing little guy Arturs Irbe

 

[Killion]

Tam O' Shanter - The name even sounds like a short, wee man. Maybe a Leprechaun?

... nope, thats the name given to Scottish Bonnets. Like a Beret. Peakless, rimless hat most often in plaid, used in the military, Brits, Canadians etc, Scottish Regiments. 1790's poem by Robbie Burns' of the same name; Tam O'Shanter. Story of an irresponsible inebriate farmer by the name of Tam who loaded one night witnesses Devil Worship on his way home from an Inn. Got into serious trouble, word in Scottish "mishanter" for trouble or grief believed to have been transposed to O'Shanter which confuses people, assuming its Irish but no. Scottish... Iron Maidens breakout hit The Number of the Beast loosely based on that poem, story, and in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, well known Golf Course & Curling Club operating under the name for decades.

 

[LeBlondeDemon10]

... nope, thats the name given to Scottish Bonnets. Like a Beret. Peakless, rimless hat most often in plaid, used in the military, Brits, Canadians etc, Scottish Regiments. 1790's poem by Robbie Burns' of the same name; Tam O'Shanter. Story of an irresponsible inebriate farmer by the name of Tam who loaded one night witnesses Devil Worship on his way home from an Inn. Got into serious trouble, word in Scottish "mishanter" for trouble or grief believed to have been transposed to O'Shanter which confuses people, assuming its Irish but no. Scottish... Iron Maidens breakout hit The Number of the Beast loosely based on that poem, story, and in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, well known Golf Course & Curling Club operating under the name for decades.

Yikes! I feel like I've spoken ill of the dead. Roused up some ghosts. Maybe a curse? I pray I do not see Eddie in my dreams.

 

[Killion]

I pray I do not see Eddie in my dreams.

Eddie? Ya. Scary. Waking up at 3am to find Eddie Shore inches from your face burning holes through
your soul with that rictus grin of his on his face. No. No, not good LBD. Not good at all. Lemme tell ya....

lookin at years of therapy. And never mind the insomnia. Krazy Glu yer eyelids open.

 

[David Bruce Banner]

If you're looking for skaters, Bobby Lalonde was 5'5" and a mediocre center for the Canucks, Flames and Bruins during the 1970s.

Lalonde deserves slightly better than "mediocre"... he was what commentators called "a waterbug", and managed a couple of 50+ pt. seasons. Let's give him "decent".

As for the OP... if Steve Kariya was actually 5'8" (as listed), I'll eat my hat. He'd be lucky to be that tall on skates.

 

[DJ Man]

Charlie Hodge was a little goaltender, didn't fill up much of the net, but usually got the job done.

 

[Killion]

Terrible Ted Lindsay was only 5'8" & 160lbs..... Gump Worsley a generous 5'7" with a listed playing weight of 155 but he regularly tipped the scales by 30+lbs more than that at Training Camps and Id peg him at actually 190 or so. Butterball.... Some of these listings like Steve Kariyas' are I believe inflated... sort of like the joke about Johnny Bowers age.

 

[JESSEWENEEDTOCOOK]

Joe Whitney who is 5'4 played a game for the Devils not too long ago

 

[Yurog]

Larry Aurie (5-6, 67 kg)

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Roy Worters was 5'3 when 5'10 was "tall".

Yes and no. In 1925/26, Worters' first season, the average height of the 96 skaters who played in the NHL was 5'9 1/2". One in eight skaters was 6 feet or taller, so I don't know if you'd really call 5'10" tall. Indeed 5'10" was the mode height, meaning more players were specifically 5'10" than any other height (followed by 5'8" and 5'11").

However, the average height of the 10 goalies whose height is known is only 5'7". So at the time goal was a short man's position. So Worters was very small compared to forwards and defencemen, but while the shortest player in the league was not much less than average for his position. Of the 10 players who were 5'6" or less, fully half were goaltenders, even though goaltenders made up less than 10% of the players in the league.

(Data from the SIHR database. The only NHL player from 1925/26 whose height is not listed is Clint Benedict.)

 

[Tam O Shanter]

... nope, thats the name given to Scottish Bonnets. Like a Beret. Peakless, rimless hat most often in plaid, used in the military, Brits, Canadians etc, Scottish Regiments. 1790's poem by Robbie Burns' of the same name; Tam O'Shanter. Story of an irresponsible inebriate farmer by the name of Tam who loaded one night witnesses Devil Worship on his way home from an Inn. Got into serious trouble, word in Scottish "mishanter" for trouble or grief believed to have been transposed to O'Shanter which confuses people, assuming its Irish but no. Scottish... Iron Maidens breakout hit The Number of the Beast loosely based on that poem, story, and in the Toronto suburb of Scarborough, well known Golf Course & Curling Club operating under the name for decades.

classic Killion quote! And ya, Robbie Burns was the worlds first folkrock rebel. Drunken, brawling, womanizing, anti-establishment, bluecollar everyman..... like Bob Dylan around Hwy 61 except manlier and into all the broads, not just his ex-wife for the last 20 friggin albums!

Anyways, ya - its a hat.