Training Camp 2016: Size Matters

We spent a lot of time talking about the value of an “NHL summer”. You know, bulking up, slimming down, hitting the gym, hitting the ice, all that fun stuff that is supposed to make you a great hockey player. Well, training camp has begun, and with that, comes a roster full of players height’s and weights.

Well, just for laughs, I decided to compare everybody’s final numbers to what they were last year. In most cases, they’re exactly the same, often with weights that are multiples of five, which suggests to me that the data-enterers might just be lazy. But some are different; here’s what we got out of this 80ish person roster.

Weight gain could go a lot of ways. It could mean a player pounded back the protein shakes and stayed in the gym cultivating mass all summer, or it could mean they had a few too many beer nights in July. Interestingly, most of the players here are guys that are expected to play bottom six or minor league minutes, with Michalek and Holland probably having the highest odds of NHL minutes. Both players were used as net-front presences by the Leafs last year, though, so they may feel some bulk works in their favour.

Seeing a skilled forward like Andreas Johnsson here as well is interesting, though that may be a bit of him trying to look like he can protect himself after his suffered hit during the AHL playoffs.

A few players appear to have slimmed down, presumably in an effort to become more mobile. Seeing taller players like Ty Stanton (6’4), Andrew Campbell (6’4), and Justin Holl (6’3) in this pool despite already relatively lanky frames is certainly interesting, but if the loss is only in the fat department, that’s probably just as useful. 

I don’t really read too much into heights, as everything seems to be a bit fabricated (seriously, does anybody actually know how tall Mitch Marner is?). Werek appears to be the biggest gainer in here too, making you wonder if he’s really hoping that he could sell himself as a big body presence. Taylor Doherty has taken a step back from pleading his Chara case. Jeff Glass is another player who’s height and weight are both significantly different from the most recent available data, though he’s spent his last few season’s in the KHL.

I’m just curious about Leo Komarov, since he’s the only one on this list who was on the main Leafs roster last year too. How does someone lose an inch at 29? If he was faking an inch, who fakes the gap between 5’10 and 5’11, quite possibly the least cared about height gap in hockey?

Anyway, these are all little fun facts at best. What matters is how the players perform at camp; we’ll see who stands out, size be damned, soon enough.