By JD Lagrange – Every year, while conducting their annual physical on the first day of training camp, NHL teams measure and weigh the players. I’ve always found interesting to see the difference from one year to another as often times, it tells a bit of a story. For example, young prospects are starting to “fill-in”, adding a bit of muscle mass to their teenager’s bones. Other times, players worked on adding weight when they need some, or shed a few pounds to gain foot speed.
This year is no different although I cannot understand how 20-plus year olds can gain or lose an inch in height from one season or another. Haircuts? Standing on tippy-toes?
Nonetheless, just prior to camp this year, I had gathered the information on the height and weight of Canadiens’ players and some of their top prospects. I waited a few weeks after the beginning of camp to ensure that they would have time to input the data on their website… and they did.
Without further ado, here is the difference for each of the following players.
| NAME | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FORWARDS | ||||||||
| Josh Anderson | 6’3″ | 227 | 6’3″ | 218 | ||||
| Joel Armia | 6’3″ | 218 | 6’3″ | 216 | ||||
| Paul Byron | 5’9″ | 158 | 5’9″ | 164 | ||||
| Cole Caufield | 5’7″ | 166 | 5’7″ | 174 | ||||
| Kirby Dach | 6’4″ | 197 | 6’4″ | 212 | ||||
| Evgenii Dadonov | 5’11” | 185 | 5’11” | 189 | ||||
| Jonathan Drouin | 6’0″ | 203 | 5’11” | 198 | ||||
| Christian Dvorak | 6’1″ | 200 | 6’1″ | 193 | ||||
| Jake Evans | 6’0″ | 176 | 6’0″ | 186 | ||||
| Brendan Gallagher | 5’9″ | 184 | 5’9″ | 186 | ||||
| Rafaël Harvey-Pinard | 5’9″ | 182 | 5’9″ | 181 | ||||
| Emil Heineman | 6’1″ | 185 | 6’0″ | 194 | ||||
| Mike Hoffman | 6’0″ | 184 | 6’0″ | 190 | ||||
| Riley Kidney | 5’11” | 168 | 5’11” | 176 | ||||
| Filip Mesar | 5’10” | 167 | 5’9″ | 176 | ||||
| Sean Monahan | 6’2″ | 200 | 6’2″ | 196 | ||||
| Jan Mysak | 6’0″ | 182 | 5’11” | 182 | ||||
| Michael Pezzetta | 6’1″ | 216 | 6’1″ | 210 | ||||
| Rem Pitlick | 5’11” | 185 | 5’11” | 186 | ||||
| Joshua Roy | 6’0″ | 187 | 6’0″ | 193 | ||||
| Nate Schnarr | 6’3″ | 185 | 6’4″ | 202 | ||||
| Juraj Slafkovsky | 6’4″ | 218 | 6’3″ | 238 | ||||
| Nick Suzuki | 5’11” | 205 | 5’11” | 208 | ||||
| Jesse Ylönen | 6’0″ | 167 | 6’1″ | 188 | ||||
| DEFENSEMEN | ||||||||
| Justin Barron | 6’2″ | 195 | 6’2″ | 201 | ||||
| Madison Bowey | 6’2″ | 202 | 6’1″ | 207 | ||||
| Joel Edmundson | 6’5″ | 224 | 6’5″ | 221 | ||||
| Kaiden Guhle | 6’2″ | 199 | 6’2″ | 205 | ||||
| Jordan Harris | 5’11” | 179 | 5’11” | 189 | ||||
| Otto Leskinen | 5’11” | 187 | 6’0″ | 193 | ||||
| Logan Mailloux | 6’3″ | 212 | 6’3″ | 217 | ||||
| Mike Matheson | 6’2″ | 188 | 6’2″ | 193 | ||||
| Mattias Norlinder | 6’0″ | 185 | 6’1″ | 195 | ||||
| David Savard | 6’1″ | 234 | 6’1″ | 235 | ||||
| Corey Schueneman | 6’0″ | 196 | 5’11” | 197 | ||||
| William Trudeau | 6’0″ | 190 | 6’0″ | 197 | ||||
| Chris Wideman | 5’10” | 180 | 5’10” | 181 | ||||
| Arber Xhekaj | 6’4″ | 219 | 6’4″ | 238 | ||||
| GOALTENDERS | ||||||||
| Jake Allen | 6’2″ | 190 | 6’2″ | 195 | ||||
| Sam Montembeault | 6’3″ | 199 | 6’3″ | 214 | ||||
| Carey Price | 6’3″ | 217 | 6’3″ | 217 | ||||
| Cayden Primeau | 6’3″ | 203 | 6’2″ | 199 |
Observations
A weight difference of within 5-6 lbs isn’t enough to make a huge difference as while it can represent the beginning of a workout/dietary plan, men can gain or lose that amount of weight based on meals, illnesses or other similar reasons.
At the top of the list, we notice that Josh Anderson is leaner, having lost nine pounds over what he was a year ago. Already fast, this should help him motor even more, as long as he hasn’t lost it in muscle mass as it’s important for a power-forward. Or maybe is it easier to climb up walls after his spider bite? *wink*
Then, you have several players who have gone through a substantial weight gain. That is a normal curve for teenagers coming into manhood, or like Jake Evans who said wanting to add muscle mass, an off-season workout routine and diet.
Here are the most notable with substantial and noticeable weight gains:
- Ylönen (+21 lbs)
- Slafkovsky (+20 lbs)
- Xhekaj (+19 lbs)
- Schnarr (+17 lbs)
- Dach (+15 lbs)
- Evans (+10 lbs)
- Harris (+10 lbs)
- Norlinder (+10 lbs)
- Heineman (+9 lbs)
- Mesar (+9 lbs)
- Caufield (+8 lbs – over a 5’7” body)
I’ve been claiming that Jesse Ylönen needed to add some weight to his frame and he has done just that. This will serve him well, whether it’s in Montreal or in Laval.
In my humble opinion (what do I know, right?), Slafkovsky and Xhekaj are at least 10 lbs too heavy. Shedding a bit of weight would allow for better foot-speed and would be easier on their body. For the others on that list, the extra pounds are welcome, particularly for Kirby Dach, who wasn’t big enough for his height.
We can also note that 20 year old defensemen Justin Barron and Kaiden Guhle are now both over the 200 lbs threshold. And from the eye test, I thought that David Savard looked leaner but it’s obviously not the case.
Now let’s see how it transposes over their season…
More reading…
- Cuts Predictions With Current Roster by JD Lagrange
- Options In Goal and Right Defense by JD Lagrange
- The Monahan Debate by Bob Trask