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Originally Posted by hockey_nut
...about 15 pounds and hit the 200lb. mark, he could really do some damage.
Maybe that's what he's missing? He's 6'1... gain about 15lbs. and add that to his offensive awareness, throw the body a bit more and you've got yourself a quality second line center.
Not sure why people want him out so quickly.
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Well, that measurement was liberally taken, I'm sure. 6'1, on skates, perhaps.
And as for gaining another 15 pounds, sure, he'd be stronger on his skates. But gaining weight is not necessarily the best thing for a player to do blindly. If he gains all the muscle mass, he will probably lose some footspeed - and that would be deadly for a player who is already a weaker skater. And if he gains more in the upper body will he have the same deft touch?
I remember a long time ago people complained that Gretz was too weedy and that he didn't work out enough while he was playing, but he stated flatly at one point that he didn't like it because being smaller helped both at keeping quick and also at sliding away from hits, etc. Now I know comparing a player today to Gretz back then isn't overly fair because it's a different era, but the same kind of ideas apply.
If Ribby can add some muscle mass to his legs and work solely on being stronger on his skates, I'd say he'd be just fine. That is not 15 pounds, though. It might, at the outside, be 5.
Look at Yzerman, look at Sakic. Those guys have body shapes that serve them best in the game of hockey at about 185-190. They aren't stocky like a Bulis or a Forsberg.
It isn't really possible to say a player 'should' be this weight or not. You have to take into consideration body type and the sort of game he plays. Just massing on 15 pounds to hit the league average would absolutely ruin a great many players we see today.
A concerned fan.
