Size Change From Last Year

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
			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…

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