Team USA Coach Says NHL Rinks Are Too Small Amid Olympic Ice Fiasco And He Might Be Right
Does he have a point?
As the status of the Olympic hockey venue continues to be a concern, the hottest topic in hockey right now is tiny rinks.
It was revealed this week that Milan's PalaItalia Santa Giulia — which is way behind schedule, but slated to open in January when it hosts an Italian league game — could have an ice-surface that is three to four feet shorter than a standard NHL-style, 200 by 85-foot ice sheet, which was the size it was originally supposed to be.
READ: THE OLYMPIC HOCKEY ARENA ISN’T JUST BEHIND SCHEDULE, THE RINK IS THE WRONG SIZE
This obviously has a lot of people worried about how it will impact the men's and women's hockey tournaments, especially since it marks the first time NHL players will be involved since the 2014 Games in Sochi.
However, New York Rangers and Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan offered a bit of a surprising take when he was asked about the rink in Italy.
"I hope that’s not the case," Sullivan told The New York Post's Mollie Walker when asked about the short rink. "I think the NHL rank is too small as it is."
Whoa. Come again.
New York Rangers and Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan says NHL rinks are too small, and he might have a point. (Getty Images)
The NHL rink is smaller than the rink used in a lot of international tournaments. It's slightly longer, but around 10 feet narrower. That has impacted the style of hockey usually seen in North America since the smaller ice means players don't have as much room to skate, and makes physicality a bigger part of the game.
Conversely, where the bigger rink is used, you see less physicality because there's more room to skate.
It seems like a matter of preference — do you want more speed and finesse or more physicality? — but Sullivan raised a really good point.
When you think in terms of the evolution of the game and the evolution of people, we're playing on the same size ice surface that the players were playing in the 50s, you know?"
Huh… well, let's see.
According to Hockey Graphs, the average height of an NHLer in 1955 was 5'11", and the average weight was 177 pounds.
These days? Horton Barbell reports that the average height is around 6'1.5'', while the average weight is up to 199.5 pounds.
So, he's kind of got a point.
Of course, there's no way the size of the rink will change any time soon. Do you really think 32 arenas will cough up the money and do away with a bunch of seats to accommodate a wider rink?
Of course not.