[Claeren]

I think one thing with some of the big guys is that fans forget how much they hurt opposing players. We are so used to sitting up high and thinking, 'oh those were two pretty hits in the second period but other than that he was only so-so' but as a finesse forward (no matter how brave) how much do you enjoy fighting along the boards with someone 4-8+ inches taller and 40-80+ pounds heavier than you!?

Not to mention the outright hits, where the total mass of body is amplified to what, 200-300 extra pounds of pressure?


As long as the large player has been scouted with correct foot speed (where they may look slower than they are, but if they are as slow as they look they will never compete at NHL level IMO) and you have a solid player that might not look as good as a smaller someone who throws big hits that don't hurt and/or who looks like they are traveling faster than they are.


Something like that?


OR that a big guy doesn't have to play that much better at each level than a smaller guy does at each level?

David Moss is an example. He did not light it up in the AHL necessarily but he played a big mans game, throws deceptively solid hits, uses his size well, and as such 10 college goals = 10 AHL goals = 10 NHL goals without much risk for the scout. A tiny player may score 40 in the WHL but then has to skate that much faster and take that much bigger hits to MAYBE score 40 in the AHL and then go even faster and use even more last remaining reserves of skill to come close to that in the NHL??


Claeren.