Flames: Youngest, Lightest and (Mostly) Smallest Team in the NHL

[Tyler]

Good visualization of 3 key metrics of NHL teams:

Spoiler!

[Money Baer]

Very cool layout! Thanks for posting this!

I'm sure we'll see a few subtractions and additions that will catapult us up the weight/height charts.

[bubbsy]

interesting approach of laying out the data. Think it would have more useful if they left Age data (reflected in circle circumference) out of it, as it added too much 'noise' to the image for me.

Quick edit: still a very awesome visual.

[Stanathan]

Excellent work Tyler!

[Anduril]

Interesting that the Blues are technically smaller than we are.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Stanathan

Excellent work Tyler!

Not my work

[nik-]

teehee @ Byfuglien's weight circle.

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by Money Baer

Very cool layout! Thanks for posting this!

I'm sure we'll see a few subtractions and additions that will catapult us up the weight/height charts.

ya,
I think there will be some changes to our chart this off season. I think we will see a jump in weight for sure by the start of next season. Not sure about the height or age though. I like that we are young and I have no problem with that.

[Wastedyouth]

Just goes to show, size is massively overrated by the average fan.

[Tyler]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Just goes to show, size is massively overrated by the average fan Hockey Team President.

Fixed

[nik-]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Just goes to show, size is massively overrated by the average fan.

Yeah.

Winnipeg is one of the tallest, heaviest and younger teams and is a hot mess.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Wastedyouth

Just goes to show, size is massively overrated by the average fan.

It is to some extent as you can see most of the quality teams in the league hover around average or even below average in things like height while some of the bigger teams in the league weren't playoff teams.

I don't think being the smallest team in the league is where you want to be though but in the case of the Flames they have some small guys that bring down the averages a fair bit compared to say the Oilers that are universally smaller. That said skill and leadership is always going to be more important than the measurables.

[PeteMoss]

I think to get a more accurate measurement you need to exclude the top/bottom couple of players.

How much does Byfuglien affect Winnipeg's team weight? Byron is one of the smallest guys in the league, how much does he drag down Calgary? The Flames will be one of the smallest team almost by default next year if Byron and Gaudreau play most of the games.

[Falclore]

Interesting how St. Louis is 2nd shortest and 18th in overall weight, with Calgary the 3rd shortest and the overall lightest team. St. Louis is over 6lbs heavier per person. That overall bulk really helps them in the down low game compared to the Flames.

[mikephoen]

One thing I always dislike about this sort of analysis is that no two players are the same. A guy can be 6'0 like Dustin Brown and throw hard hits with great frequency or a guy can be a 6'6" back up goalie. Size and weight alone don't tell much of the story when it comes to a team's physicality on the ice.

It also treats everyone the same when calculating the average regardless of how much ice time they get or what situations they play in. Boston for example is a 'bigger' team than the numbers would indicate because Chara is a monster and is on the ice for 25+ minutes a game. Krug is bringing the average down, but he plays 5/6 even strength minutes plus power play time where size isn't as important.

[dino7c]

you need players who can and are willing to bang to win especially in the playoffs and in our division. I don't think its about numbers on a page although the Flames do need some bigger bodies

St. Louis plays a heavy game I don't care what these numbers say

[foshizzle11]

Originally Posted by mikephoen

One thing I always dislike about this sort of analysis is that no two players are the same. A guy can be 6'0 like Dustin Brown and throw hard hits with great frequency or a guy can be a 6'6" back up goalie. Size and weight alone don't tell much of the story when it comes to a team's physicality on the ice.

It also treats everyone the same when calculating the average regardless of how much ice time they get or what situations they play in. Boston for example is a 'bigger' team than the numbers would indicate because Chara is a monster and is on the ice for 25+ minutes a game. Krug is bringing the average down, but he plays 5/6 even strength minutes plus power play time where size isn't as important.

This is why seeing the data the way it is helps paint the picture of each team's make up. You can see by position how teams lineup. This is a great way to show the data and you can make your own deductions about each team and the outliers on each team are quite obvious.

[bubbsy]

i would argue that the big flames outlier, byron, actually played a heavier/more physical game than most of the roster.

[FAN]

Given the choice, I think teams looking to make the playoffs should concentrate on speed and skill rather than size while teams looking to advance further in the playoffs should focus on adding size and grit. It's one thing for small players to play a gritty and physical game but you can only do so much in the playoffs sometimes when refs swallow their whistle and you don't have the strength to push through.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by bubbsy

i would argue that the big flames outlier, byron, actually played a heavier/more physical game than most of the roster.

Smallest guy in the league, and he nearly killed a Sedin with one of the lightest hits he threw all year.