Quote:
Originally Posted by Azure
Patrick Kane is 180lbs as well.
Its not that hard to put on 10lbs of muscle in the off-season. Obviously he needs to put the work in, but its not impossible. So if he finishes college hockey at 160-165lbs, which is what he thought he'd be at, one good off-season workout with quality training and quality food and he should easily be able to push past 170lbs. Stamkos put on 8lbs of muscle in the off season after his rookie season at the same age that Johnny Hockey is at now.
Not sure why everyone is so up in arms about it. We're going to compare him to Paul Byron now? The stronger Gaudreau is, the better off he'll be.
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Part of the difficulty is putting on a certain percentage of weight on. It is quite easy for a 6'4" 220lb athlete to pack on 10lbs, but it is much more difficult for a 5'0" 120lb athlete to pack on 10lbs. (not that these sizes correspond to Stamkos and Gaudreau, just to illustrate the difference).
Gaudreau's frame may not be conducive to packing on the weight. It may indeed even hamper him somewhat. Iginla a few years ago felt he was better at a lighter weight as it made him faster and have a bit more endurance, for example.
It is tough for any of us to judge how quickly Gaudreau can put on the weight, or even to properly gauge what Gaudreau's ideal playing weight even should be. I do think he could stand to put on some weight of course, but how much and how quickly would probably be worked out with him and Hesketh.
For instance, Kane and St. Louis are roughly the same size, but they have completely different builds, and both are dominating in their own right. Would Kane be more dominating if he was built like St. Louis? I personally don't think Gaudreau could pack up to 180lbs (and it certainly wouldn't be easy for him given his frame and starting weight), but I have to question if that would be ideal anyways.