You can’t ice a team of gnomes, especially in the playoffs- it won’t matter how skilled they are, they will get killed. You can afford to carry a few smaller guys, but you have to surround them with some beef. I’m not necessarily talking about 6’5” and over, either. Hockey is a contact sport, and until that changes- size, strength, and truculence will matter, like it or not. Scouts and GM’s would agree with me, look at every trade deadline.
Skill and speed are obviously the most important, but you can’t sacrifice size.
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