Q. How does being short help players like Martin St. Louis?

The Prof Says: As the players around him get bigger and bigger, the New York Rangers winger—a 16-year veteran and six-time All-Star who stands just 5’8″—keeps on thriving. Why?

In 2005, Niels Uth, a researcher at a university in Denmark, observed that relative muscle strength theoretically decreases as height increases. So long, thin muscles have a lower power-to-weight ratio than short and squat ones. Which means smaller skaters like St. Louis can accelerate more quickly.

(full article published in Sports Illustrated Kids, May 2015)