They say in Montreal, hockey is a religion. Fans have been known to beg the Almighty for playoff wins, some going as far as climbing the steps of St.Joseph's' Oratory on their knees. There's even been a course at the University of Montreal called The Religion of the Montreal Canadiens. So, when a figure like Mother Teresa says "Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies," Habs fans pay attention.
The Canadiens have a long history of carrying dynamic small players. There was goalie Roy "Shrimp" Worters, the smallest player in NHL history at 5'3" and 135 pounds in the 1929-30 season. Aurele Joliat, the 1933-34 Hart Trophy winner was 5'7" and 136. There were the Pocket Rocket, the Roadrunner and the Little Viking, all standing 5'7" and about 160 pounds. (Henri Richard might have been a little heavier, but not much.) And 5'7" Brian Gionta was Habs captain for four years.
Now, of course, Cole Caufield (5'8", 175) and Lane Hutson (5'9", 162) are a couple of the smallest, lightest players in the entire NHL. Even though they're diminutive in stature, they're putting up numbers to compare with the league's stars and playing some generally great all-around hockey. Even the Canadiens coach, Hall-of-Famer Marty St.Louis, is renowned for dominating at 5'8" and 176 (most of that carried in his thighs.)
As it turns out, while there may not be a religious explanation for why the Habs' small guys are so good, there is one rooted in science.
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Alain Haché is an experimental physicist at the University of Moncton. He's also an amateur goalie and the author of two books: "The Physics of Hockey" and "Slap Shot Science." When he looks at the mechanics of hockey, he sees an advantage for smaller players.
"It's a little bit like soccer," he explains. "In soccer, you'll see shorter players like Lionel Messi. He's not a very tall person and his center of gravity is a little bit lower so he can accelerate faster, go around corners faster. And with hockey players it's the same thing."
"So they'll be able to maneuver the puck around the traffic faster than somebody who is taller because that taller person has a higher center of gravity so it'll take longer to accelerate." Agility and acceleration aren't the only scientific benefits that come with a low center of gravity. Haché says short guys can have an advantage in the close quarters of board battles as well.
"You're closer to the puck and you may have a better view of where the puck is," he says. "And there's a thing in physics called the lever effect. A shorter person has a shorter lever. You apply the same amount of force (as a taller guy with a longer stick) and you get a better leverage. So you can fight quite effectively for the puck. Somebody with long arms would have not necessarily an advantage in terms of reach." (Recall Gionta going into the corner with Zdeno Chara and coming out with the puck so often.)
"In some of the battles for the puck, you might see this smaller player come up on top. When it comes on a one-on-one battle, it's not necessarily all about the reach. It's also how much force you can pull the puck your way with."
Haché says smaller players can also find an advantage off the ice. When you're not a big guy, you have to be strong.
"Same thing like when people do bench press. Somebody who has long arms has a bit of a disadvantage because there's a longer lever there. He has to apply a lot of force to lift where somebody with shorter arms could lift more. And same thing with the squats." (Not to harp on St.Louis' thighs, but they are a visual aid for that point.)
Physics explains some of the advantages small players can have, but Haché thinks the changes in NHL rules limiting holding and interference help too.
"It was not always that easy in the NHL for a smaller player," he opines. "But in recent decades I think we've seen a change or shift. And I think that's something that the NHL wanted in the first place. They wanted to open up the game and and let players of all sizes have a chance."
Case in point: Hutson, who at one time would never even have been considered by an NHL team, especially on defence.
"I think there's some (small) defensemen that pretty much probably could play as a forward, but they have also very good defensive skills and I think Lane Hutson is one of them. So when you have a player like that, I think it's very interesting advantage on a team."
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Despite scientific evidence of advantages small players may have, every team in the NHL passed on Hutson before the Canadiens took him at #62 overall. Nobody ever drafted St.Louis. There's still a bias against shorter guys in the minds of many hockey executives.
For some players, getting overlooked because of their size actually gives them one more advantage: a mental one.
As 5'6" David Desharnais, another undrafted guy who was never supposed to make the NHL put it, "What is important is to show determination and also intelligence, he said. "It is quite obvious that I will not try to play physical against a 6'6" guy, but at the same time, you cannot be afraid to go into the traffic (the dirty areas)."
"I mean obviously you know people said you couldn't make it right because of your height... it's my fifth season in Montreal. and some people are still going to say uh he's too small or whatever. You just want to keep uh keep proving people wrong." He proved them wrong for 524 NHL games.
And before there was Hutson on D, there was Francis Bouillon. Standing 5'8" and also undrafted for that reason, he played 776 very tough games in the big league.
"My story has never been like anybody else's," he recalls. "Generally, NHL players were dominant at all levels that they played. But for me, I was never an impact player... I always had to prove my worth at each training camp."
Luckily for the Canadiens, management has always been willing to take a chance on small players others overlooked.
If the skeptics among fans don't believe the Unseen Hand has a role in their team's success, they may not put the same credence in the words of Mother Teresa as the students who took The Montreal Canadiens as Religion in university.
So, perhaps the words of the great scientist Carl Sagan resonate better.
"We are in many ways unimaginably small within this universe, yet uniquely special."
