Mike Serba Memorial Golf Tournament

Does Size Matter?

They Used To Say: “A Good Big Hockey Player Will Always Be Better Than A Good Little Hockey Player.”

From the mid 1970’s through to the early 2000’s, player size was the dominant factor in building your team.  N.H.L. defensemen  had learned the most effective way to stop a speeding forward was to use his stick to obstruct a rushing forward. While hooking, holding and interference were illegal tactics, they were effective and were not being called as penalties.

While the search was on for big strong defensemen, the search was also on for big strong powerful forwards that could stand the abuse and break through the obstruction.

During these years I noted the following observations in the minor hockey scene:

1.    The players that were smaller in stature had to develop their skills in order to survive and to be effective. Then as now and with certainty into the future; if you can’t be effective, you won’t be on the team and so the player smaller in stature went to hockey schools and developed their skills.

2.    As I’ve written before, one of the problems with hockey at the minor levels is that coaches are not really “coaches and teachers” they’re recruiters. If you have the best players, you don’t need to be a teacher and coach. You just throw them on the ice and win. In the recruitment process the larger stature player and his parents were were being told how great he was and what a great future he had.

If you’re already great , there’s not much need to work on your skills. I always thought it was a shame that larger stature players didn’t feel the need to work on their skills.

Things Change

The NHL was concerned that the play of the game had become slow, low-scoring and boring. In 2005 the NHL made some important rule changes.

1.    The center ice line was removed for 2 line off side passes exiting a team’s home zone. This allowed for long “stretch” passes which forced defense to back off and opened up the ice adding speed to the play of the game.
2.    There was now zero tolerance for any kind of obstruction; interference, hooking, holding or otherwise impeding a player’s progress except for a legitimate body check on a puck carrier. Defending players could no longer hook and “water ski” being dragged along behind a player. And when they said zero tolerance they meant zero tolerance. A trailing defender who even touched the elbow of a puck carrier in front of him was called for hooking even though there was no apparent effect on the puck carrier.

This had a tremendous effect on the speed of play of the game. The slow footed player was now at a big disadvantage. The quick, agile player was now allowed to show his skills and show the value of those skills to winning hockey games. The whole game changed.

One quick result was the elimination of the slow footed enforcer. Toughness and intimidation have always been a part of the game. Many teams had that one tough guy they could put out on the ice when some intimidation was needed. Many of these guys were not the most agile in the world but were not a liability under the old rules. Under the new rules with their lack of speed and agility, they became a liability.

They Used To Say: “A Good Big Hockey Player Will Always Be Better Than A Good Little Hockey Player.”

In part 3 I’ll give you my take on this subject.

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