Quote:
Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe
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.
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I'm not saying he will do it in one off-season. If he is already at 160lbs coming out of college I would say that is very good. But over the next few years he will have to work on his strength and power at the NHL level. He could easily stay at 160lbs, but being such a small player one would think he would be better fit being a bit heavier.
Heavy doesn't mean slow either. There are NFL guys at 250lbs that can run the 40 yard dash than comparable players at 190lbs.
It just takes time and proper training.