How did Marty's missing six make him better?

How to come up short in a tall persons world

Thank you, my remarkably foolish friends, for indulging me your attention in a second post about hockey in as many days.

What’s worse, this isn’t a charming post about youth sport.

Naw.

This is about Martin St. Louis, Hall of Fame hockey player and new head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Mr. St. Louis is a grand total of five feet six inches tall. He is, by NHL standards, essentially six inches too short.

This many believed would prevent him from making his way into the NHL. He was never drafted.

He had the skills and the mind for the game. People never questioned his heart. They questioned his frame.

Those missing six inches were considered Marty’s biggest liability. They eventually became his greatest strength.

Marty is short.

Marty played low, closer to the ice. He had a low centre of gravity. It made him difficult to move. He could also, from that low centre of gravity, help momentarily liberate people from the bonds of gravity. He would go low. They would go high. Some who attempted …