Quote:
Originally Posted by Ashasx
Not that I want to discuss this much further, but how many 6'7" forwards do you see in the NHL today? How many besides Brian Boyle aren't plugs or enforcers?
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This is an extremely short-sited view of the issue.
First, kids are bigger today, and continue to get bigger. 6'7" used to be huge and unusual but it is not going to be as unusual going forward. There was a time when 6'4" or 5" was unusual, but saying that a guy didn't have a chance because there weren't many 6'4" guys before him would have been short-sited and misguided. Today's 6'7" is the 6'4" of a generation ago.
Second, the ability to coach skating skills has improved immensely. One of the biggest challenges for a big kid is dealing with co-ordination quickly enough to be able to keep up in the skating department. While that was an immense challenge in the past, it is less so now. Coaching can really improve a player's skating.
Saying that being 6'7" reduces his chances of being in the NHL because there haven't been a lot of 6'7" players in the NHL in the past is a ridiculous argument.