“Just Another 5’11 Defenceman”

“Just another 5’11 defenceman.”

You would be surprised how many times; I’ve heard that around the rink or thought about that over the last several years. It’s like 5’11 defenders left or right shots grow on trees. Obviously, you could say that about any player playing any position given their height.

Why is 5’11 the height that gets criticized so much? Well, it’s not 6 feet, right. Do people say the same thing about a player that might be 6’2 or 6’4 and above, one would think not. If it’s not said out loud, it’s definitely implied when scouts  and other hockey pundits initially look at rosters before their first eye test or evaluation. Right or wrong it happens and don’t even get me started about goaltenders, because that shit happens all of the time. It’s like if the kid isn’t over 6’2 or 6’3 they don’t even exist.

What sets players apart, what makes them unique, that’s the real question that they are implying when they those kinds of statements are uttered. Bias has an uncanny ability to seep into things, especially in the game of hockey, it’s almost inevitable especially in the lower ranks. Nevertheless, when you’re around the game for a long time you try to look past those things and really drill down.

At the end of the day, unfortunately the height of the player does matter to a lot of people and organizations across the hockey world, that’s the harsh reality of the situation.

I’ll never forget attending my first Gatorade Challenge. That’s where all the Atlantic Canadian provinces sent U15 teams to play against two separate teams from Quebec as a final QMJHL draft evaluation. I had never witnessed so many similar players that were on the teams from Quebec. They were like robots; they all skated incredibly well and did all of the little things right. Obviously, the bonafide superstars stood out, but they were all so similar how would one study, evaluate and project that many players that were all the same? You see that’s the task, that’s what it’s all about, differentiation, knowing the lookfors and knowing what separates player A from player B.

When scouts sit down and evaluate, they use all of their past knowledge and experience to project a player, but it’s difficult not to subconsciously let bias enter the equation.

The “just another 5’11 player” statement has the potential to cloud the judgment of some scouts especially given the reality of the situation or the level they are watching.

Obviously, there’s a big difference between projecting a player entering major junior hockey versus the pro ranks.  Would you pound the draft table or stake your livelihood on drafting a 5’11 defencemen or 5’11 anything at the NHL level?  Well, that would depend wouldn’t it. How many players in the 2025 NHL Entry Draft were 5’11 or under? I don’t know all of the numbers for that one, but the ultimate separator of players lives in the details.

By all accounts or from my highly accurate “Googling” research there’s currently 79 players in the NHL 5’11 or shorter. That’s a lot isn’t it? What sets them apart? Would you say, “Oh, just another 5’11 guy,” referring to an NHL regular? I think not!

If height is so important and significant, how the hell does a great skating 6’5 right shot defencemen fall through waivers in one Major Junior hockey league and land in the other? How does a 40 point plus offensive 6’1 defencemen clear waivers in one Major Junior league and land in the other? You can all speculate the reasons why, but what about value? The value of having players like that on your roster at the junior level is immeasurable. How much valuable does the 5’11 defender or the 5’11 goaltender or 5’11 forward really have?  How is value measured at the NHL level? Obviously it’s not all about the salary cap.

Who would you draft, a 6’5 defender with upside or a 5’11 defender that is incredibly versatile, valuable and does everything very well? I know who I would be picking.

Scouts like any die-hard hockey fans, draft analysts or prospects writers need to be very careful how they describe, evaluate and write about players. What about writing “Not like other 5’11 players” or adding that to their lexicon or scouting report jargon? One would think that would separate more players, wouldn’t it?

We all have bias’s, being aware of and moving past them can impact how we approach and learn from everything around us and can drastically change our perception and perspective. What about the character of the player? What about the intangibles that player brings to the game? How valuable is that?

Organizations, hockey people and scouts can say they value them all day long, but when push comes to shove, some in the hockey world want nothing to do with “small” “diminutive” or “undersized players” or whatever the hell you want to call them. Some teams and scouts won’t evaluate, project or even write reports on them. Those types of players are nowhere to be found on their draft board, and they won’t even consider them until someone has enough guts to prove it to them or try to convince them they should take a shot at them or until the player shows them. The “it doesn’t matter what size you are” argument doesn’t hold water in some organizations. Ironically that kind of sounds like, “just another 5’11 player” doesn’t it?