Feature Story
It’s not the size of the fight in the dog
Let’s Play Hockey Columnist
“In
It was 1983,
New York City, and Hedberg sounded a lot like the
professor I once had for a physics class — the one who left no doubt when he
spoke that he knew the subject backwards and forwards and wasn’t looking for a
debate. It’s noteworthy that Anders was, himself, one
of the most motivated athletes in the weight room.
“We believe
that smaller, weaker kids will have to compete with their mind and their
skills…and gain strength at a later time,” Anders added. “There’s a danger that
a bigger, stronger (bantam) player will be too successful because of brute
strength, and he won’t be forced to learn rink sense and skills. Then, when he
gets to be 20, and others are also big and strong, he has nothing extra to help
him compete.”
For those who
didn’t see him play, Anders Hedberg is to Swedish
hockey what Babe Ruth was to American baseball — except that after his playing
days ended with the New York Rangers, Hedberg began a
second career as a consultant to NHL teams regarding the development of young
talent. He was also the General Manager of the Swedish Gold Medalist in the
last Olympic Games.
When Hedberg
speaks about development — we listen — and maybe even take notes.
Youth hockey
in
Youth coaches
are never evaluated on the basis of won/loss records. In fact, if it appears a
coach is putting too much emphasis on winning, he’d lose his job. They teach
constantly, and exercise patience when players try new, creative plays in games
and practices.
If size is
not an advantage for long-term learning and development, does it make a
difference day-by-day in the NHL?
No one would
say size is not an advantage — all other things being equal. However, given the growing importance of
those ‘other things,’ size is becoming less relevant in the new NHL. The
skillful, clever players dominate every game, whether they’re big or small. Of
course, there are still the big, strong grinders who believe their reason for
existence is to hustle all over the ice and make big hits.
The superstars — the ones who come up with
game-breaking plays at just the right time — come in all sizes. Of course, some
are big and strong. After all, a few years ago, scouts couldn’t even report the
name of a prospect who wasn’t over the magic 183
centimeters tall (6 feet in English). Some even taped a line on the wall at
that height, so they could eliminate those who didn’t tower above it.
And for this
they got paid.
Because of
the impact of scouting, many top players in the NHL are tall. But just as many are small, just as it has been for a hundred
years. Four years ago, Martin St. Louis was the Most Valuable Player of
the entire league, as he led his Tampa Bay Lightning to a Stanley Cup
championship. Not satisfied with his own play in the following season, St.
Louis decided to lose 10 pounds — get smaller and faster — and now he’s back at
it again, scoring goals in bunches.
Ask any scout
to name the 10 best players he’s ever seen — or that he’s played with — and his
list will include more small players than giants. It’s amazing, but some
coaches of women’s college teams have the same myopia. They’re searching the rinks for big high
school girls; yet all the best players in the brief history of women’s hockey
were small. They dominated because they were quick, skillful, creative,
confident and tough — just like the men.
Patrick Kane
(5-9 and 160 pounds) was the first player picked in the NHL draft last June,
and he’s already winning games for the newly energized Chicago Blackhawks.
When
describing Sidney Crosby as the best player in the world, we marvel at his
Gretzky-like-creativity, or his awesome rink sense, play-making, poise,
confidence, speed, agility, balance, etc.
But no one mentions his size. Why? Because it’s
irrelevant.
And that’s
the point. Size is over-rated, unless we’re talking about the size of the
heart. Anyone who sees Alex Ovechkin on a daily basis
would not explain his incredible impact by his size, even though his legs are
almost freakishly big.
His shot from any awkward position is
remarkable. His ability to accelerate while cornering —
great. But, his real strength is his passion —
the quality that matters most. When the game’s on the line with a few seconds
left, he gets to the net with the puck, not because he’s big and strong, but
because his heart is bigger than any other of his amazing attributes.
Jack Blatherwick,
Ph.D., is a physiologist for the