Quote:
Originally Posted by AcGold
being elusive is all fine until you factor that into 82 games. Byron's the polar opposite of Gaudreau, 10 pounds was just a number but yeah it will help. It's just not worth it to risk one the most skilled players in the system, you can gamble with Byron, his upside is minimal whereas Johnny's is exponentially greater.
It's like gambling with all your chips at once, even if you're really good you'll lose eventually. It won't even take someone taking a run at him, he just has to go into the corner with Lucic one time and get leaned on.
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Too much muscle mass tends to make players a bit slower, and they fatigue faster. Iginla felt he had to drop some weight sometime after the lockout as he felt he needed to be faster. Putting too much weight on Gaudreau can give you exactly the opposite results. I will trust Hesketh as to how much weight Gaudreau needs. Adding 10 or 20lbs to someone like Jankowski is relatively expected and necessary. Adding 10-20lbs on Gaudreau at this stage may be too much. He may really lose his elusiveness, and towards the end of games he might just be too fatigued to be able to side-step that hit, etc.
There will always be question marks and people worrying about him getting 'rocked' by some big players in the NHL. That will never go away. I bet Patrick Kane still makes a few Chicago fans worried now and then. Just the nature of the game. You can't hold back a prospect if he is ready. At some point, you have to put that prospect out there and allow him to try.
St. Louis cracked the NHL at what I am guessing would be relatively the same size and build with the Flames. It took him a number of years to grow that physique. Though he was nowhere close to being as good back then as he eventually came to be in Tampa, it is tough to argue that he was rushed or didn't belong in the NHL just because his body was a bit small. This was at a time when players got away with a lot more - clutching, grabbing, and guys like Stevens were lauded for their devastating hits that would result in huge fines and suspensions today. It has never been easier for guys like Gaudreau to enter into and be able to compete in the NHL than it is now - but regardless if he is 10lbs or even 20lbs heavier, there will always be questions and worries that he could be 'one hit away'.