The phrase ‘size matters’ is common throughout sports. But does size matter in the game of hockey?
Size does not matter in hockey. When analyzing data, there is no correlation between size and success. Even looking at size by position, there are no similarities between the size of the player and how good they are. The biggest teams do not have the best records.
What is the Average Size of an NHL player?
The average size of an NHL player is 6 ft 1 in. In a study James Mirtle did in 2018, the average player profile is 6′ 1,” 200 pounds. The average player age is 27. When researching both extremes, you can get 160s and 230s for weight and 5′ 9″ to 6′ 5″ for height. Here is a chart by NHL team that puts all this data together. Weight in pounds is on the vertical axis and height by inches is on the horizontal.
In the season referenced by the chart above, Tampa Bay was considered the best team and the smallest in average size, thus further driving home no correlation between size and wins in hockey. Of the other major sports in North America (NBA, MLB, and NFL), NHL players are the smallest out of the bunch.
What Makes a Good Ice Hockey Player?
What matters in hockey is having a low center of gravity, sharp skills, and grit about your game. If you look at the top talent in the league, the vision, quick stick reflexes, and skating are at the top of the list. Many young players get discouraged because they think they are not ‘big enough’ for the league. Hopefully, this article is helpful in explaining you do not need to be tall. Yes, you need to be explosive for your body type, but many players play to the size they were made. As they say, you can’t teach size; control what you can control.
When you think size physical domination and toughness come to mind. While there is plenty of rough plays in hockey, if the bigger guys cannot catch you, they can’t hit you. Even down on the boards by the goal where there is usually a lot of pinning each other to the boards and hits, smaller, more effective ice skaters are very efficient at getting the puck to the right person.
In the modern era of hockey, you cannot find data that supports the bigger the player the better. The data also would suggest the game is getting faster and smaller. Teams really try to find players that can hold their own and are very fast skaters. Even goalies are getting more compact in general. You always have outliers, like Ben Bishop at 6′ 7,” Adin Hill at 6′ 6,” and a few others at 6′ 6.” When looking for trades or draft picks, you find GMs lean towards “getting bigger as a team,” which is an interesting strategy if you look at the data.
Is it Good to be Tall in Hockey?
This is a common question asked among younger players, especially as they are growing taller during growth spurt years. In North America, taller is perceived as better in sports. In most common sports, it does help to have some height to you. But as we have discovered, there is no reflection on success to height. In the chart above, you can see there are plenty of players below the 6-foot mark, as the average is just a touch over 6 feet.
Tall is a relative term of course, but what I mean is over 6 feet in height. As long as you can “pick ’em up and put ’em down,” it is good to be tall. That sweet spot where speed and agility meetings physical longevity is where you want to land. The game comes down to using your frame better than anyone else on the ice. Worry less about being bigger than everyone, and more about having more grit and want to when it comes to training and wanting the puck.
Can hockey players be short?
Just ask Nathan Gerbe, measuring in at 5′ 4.” You can never tell how accurate teams are in putting our physical dimensions of athletes, but we have to think this height is pretty close. Skates also make it hard to tell how tall players are. They make the shorter ones look average, and players like Zdeno Chára larger than life. With skates strapped on, he is pushing 7 feet on the ice. Big guy right there.
Yes, Nathan is an outlier, but there are plenty of skaters I can think of in the mid-5-foot range. Some of the best players in the league, in fact, are ‘short’ worker bees that no one can catch and have amazing puck handling skills, resulting in large points at the end of the season. As the years go by, shorter players are thriving as the game gets faster. As I mentioned earlier, players with low centers of gravity are efficient on the ice and can generate speed quickly.
Most Important Hockey Skills?
All the data around size in the NHL is helpful; so what are the most important skills in hockey? Everyone will have their own opinion, but here is a list I compiled after much research. We mentioned some earlier, but what are the top 10 skills that younger players should focus on developing?
- Skating technique- make sure your stride is long
- Speed on skates- quick foot and arm motions
- Stick handling- know where your stick goes without the puck
- Puck handling- most efficient while skating and handling the puck
- Hand-eye coordination- helps in the overall development of the player
- Shooting- do drills on shooting accuracy
- Slapshot- reflexes and shot placement
- Passing- where the player is going to be
- Stopping/Starting- quick movements on the ice
- Grit- outwork everyone on the ice
There are many more skills you can work on, but if you capture these 10 ideas, you have a great chance to be the best player on the ice. I would argue skating skills might be the most important to focus on- if you cannot skate, you won’t shoot. If you don’t shoot, you will not score.
Most Physical NHL Teams
The most physical teams in hockey are not always the biggest. Yes, the bigger the player, usually the higher hit count they have. Just because they have more hits does not mean they are the most physical. You might have heard the term ‘play big,’ and that applies in hockey. You have to carry a presence about you to make other players respect your speed and abilities on the ice.
To figure out the most physical NHL teams, we have to pick a year and set boundaries around the definition of a physical team. There are only a few data points that can guide this conversation. Hits, penalty in minutes (PIMs), fighting major penalties and roughing penalties are good guidelines when trying to define a physical team. If you look at those data points, you can find out who will be a tough opponent in the physical category when facing off against them.
If you look at the 2019- 2020 season, teams such as the Anaheim Ducks, New York Rangers, and Boston Bruins lead the league in fighting majors. This would lend fans to believe you are going to get a physical game when playing these teams. Not a bad strategy at all if it helps you put points on the board and get wins.
Another way to get marked as a physical team is to have 1 or 2 of the ‘dirty’ players in the NHL on your roster. Too many cheap or illegal hits by one player and fan bases will be quick to label you as a ‘dirty player.’ Not the title you want, especially when the league is trying to get safer and enforces heavier consequences on rough hits that could lead to injury. Originally, being the heaviest hitter on the ice brought you much praise and admiration: not anymore.
