A quick word on 'being' big vs 'playing' big
Just because a player is physically bigger than an opponent does not necessarily mean they have an advantage. Yet, you often hear commentators, coaches, management, etc. compliment players by talking about a player’s ability to “play big” or they “play bigger than their size.”
What is “playing big”?
Playing big is the ability to prioritize body positioning and control space.
Rather than fishing using their stick, players that play big take the extra step or shuffle push to establish or keep body positioning.
Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak
Don’t just be big… play bigExcellent play by Mattias Samuelsson to take the extra half push to maintain exclusive spaceWhile he’s a big man, many small players do the same and “play big”
1:32 PM ∙ Oct 21, 2022
Initiating Contact
A big (see what we did there) piece of “playing big” is initiating contact early. Here is a great example of a 5’9” player physically initiating contact against a 6’4” opponent to gain and maintain body positioning so he has exclusive access to the space that the puck is in. The physically smaller player is then able to easily make the next play.
Greg Revak, CFP® @CoachRevak
That forecheck 👀 Malgin 5’9” 180lbsDumoulin 6’4” 205lbsPrime example of “playing big” = initiating contact
1:08 AM ∙ Nov 12, 2022
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Further Reading
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