Spurgeon is especially impressive considering he is a defenseman as well. The thing with height, is it isn't that you are simply taller than other players.
The extra reach that height gives a player is useful in almost all situations. One's wing span is almost roughly the same size as their height, but you also have to consider when a taller leans to reach something, that extra height gives them even more of an advantage. This is useful for receiving passes, going for loose pucks, defending, checking, and board battles. Forwards have to do all that stuff as well of course, but it is a little more critical for a defenseman.
The reachable radius around a small player is a lot shorter, so they have to make up for it by being a little faster, a little shiftier, and a little feistier. I am not sure Phillips has all that, but Pelletier comes advertised with more of those attributes. Hopefully we get to see.
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"A pessimist thinks things can't get any worse. An optimist knows they can."
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