Top 10 Undersized NHL Players – The Hockey Writers Top 10 Lists Latest News, Analysis & More

Often deemed too small by NHL scouts and executives, undersized players frequently have a harder time breaking into the National Hockey League. Many are overlooked and go undrafted since they do not fit the traditional mould of a professional hockey player. However, smaller players have found their way into the NHL and made history. Smaller players like Martin St. Louis, Rod Gilbert, Marcel Dionne, Ted Lindsay, and Henri Richard were all of smaller stature, but pushed the boundaries and became essential to their teams and transformed NHL standards.

Below are ten of the smallest hockey players in the league today, all under 5-foot-10, that have proven to be successful in the NHL, despite the challenge of being undersized.

10. Logan Stankoven, Dallas Stars

Vital statistics: 5-foot-7, 170 pounds

I still can’t believe Logan Stankoven was not a first-round pick in 2021, because he seems to dominate every league he steps foot in. First, it was his hometown Kamloops Blazers in the Western Hockey League where he finished with 115 goals and 260 points in 179 games, then the American Hockey League (AHL) with 24 goals and 57 points in 47 games, and finally the NHL regular season and playoffs where he combined for nine goals and 22 points in 43 games. Oh yes, he also scored the golden goal at the 2022 World Juniors and had 21 points over the 2022 and 2023 tournaments where Canada won gold.

While the sample size is small in the NHL, he quickly became a go-to forward for Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer as he averaged 16:01 of ice time in the playoffs – almost two minutes more than the regular season. His trademark motor, energy, and tenacity despite being 5-foot-7 (yes, he’s 5-foot-7), has quickly endeared him to many fans and coaches, prompting this from DeBoer after Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights:

“He’s strong, he’s fearless and he’s tenacious,” DeBoer said. “When you have that combination, you notice him on the ice. He’s on the puck or attacking the puck at all times, he’s attacking seams, he’s going to the tough areas of the rink. He’s battling with guys that are . . . well everybody on the ice is bigger than him . . . so it’s a mismatch. He’s got to make up for that with his will to win those and he does every time. It’s amazing how many pucks he comes out with against bigger guys.”

Fellow young star Wyatt Johnston also had similar things to say about the aptly nicknamed “Stank the Tank”:

“He’s not afraid to go in and win a battle,” Johnston said. “He goes in there and he leaves them no choice. It’s impressive how many puck battles he wins, especially when he’s outweighed by 40 or 50 pounds against some of these huge defensemen. That compete level he has, it’s kind of contagious.”

Stankoven gets on this list for the first time, and will likely be in the top five in no time. He is a star in the making – no pun intended.

9. Cam Atkinson, Tampa Bay Lightning

Vital statistics: 5-foot-8, 176 pounds

Cam Atkinson was the 157th overall pick in the 2008 Draft, by the Columbus Blue Jackets. Like many others on this list, he had a career season in 2018-19, putting up 41 goals, and 28 assists for 69 points. He was also named an NHL All-Star.

As a smaller player, he was accustomed to hearing doubts about his career as a hockey player, which he explained to NHL.com, “Everyone at every single age, every single level, told me I wouldn’t make it to the next level. So I think that’s kind of fueled my fire, for sure. Obviously being a smaller guy, you have to have a little arrogance to your game. That’s what’s made me the person, the player, I am today.”

Related: Flyers’ Cam Atkinson Is Having Career-Revitalizing Season

Atkinson has excelled in the NHL because of his explosive speed and skilled hands. And he learned from his friend and mentor, St. Louis, how to succeed in the NHL regardless of his size. Since that 41-goal season, he has regressed a bit to only 63 goals in 243 games. After the 2020-21 season, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers after spending his entire NHL career with the Blue Jackets.

The Flyers had a disappointing season in 2021-22, but Atkinson did not. Finishing the season with his best goal total since that career year in 2018-19, he definitely was not the reason for his team’s downfall in 2021-22, that’s for sure. Unfortunately, he was denied the opportunity to build on that season due to the injury bug. First, he had to have surgery to repair a herniated disc, then when it looked like he was going to return to the lineup, he was ruled out for the season with a neck injury.

Atkinson missed the entire 2022-23 season and finally returned to the Flyers’ lineup in October 2023. He ended up playing 70 games, but only scored 13 goals and 28 points. The team eventually bought him out in the offseason, leading to him signing a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He will attempt to help fill the void that Steven Stamkos left when he signed with the Nashville Predators.

8. Yanni Gourde, Seattle Kraken

Vital statistics: 5-foot-9, 173 pounds

Yet another diamond in the rough mined by the Tampa Bay Lightning, Yanni Gourde had to wait a few years before he caught on in the NHL. After a prolific junior career in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) where he had an impressive 220 points (74 goals, 147 assists) in 199 games, he bounced around the AHL until the Lightning signed him in 2014.

After another three seasons flipping between the Syracuse Crunch and the Lightning, Gourde finally played his first full 82-game season in 2017-18, and what a season it was. He scored a career-high 25 goals and 64 points and has never seen the AHL since. Since that breakout year, he has recorded 95 goals and 243 points in 441 games.

Gourde also helped the Lightning win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 where he joined Blake Coleman and Barclay Goodrow on arguably the best third line in the NHL. Through the two Cup runs, the trio scored 24 goals and 57 points and are one of the biggest reasons why the Lightning are a mini-dynasty right now. Unfortunately for them, they are all playing for different teams with Gourde, Coleman and Goodrow now members of the Seattle Kraken, Calgary Flames, and San Jose Sharks, respectively.

Related: Gourde’s Legacy as the Lightning’s Determined, Underrated Star

Gourde was selected by the Kraken in the 2021 Seattle Expansion Draft and is now one of their top centers. With two Stanley Cups on his resume and 126 goals, he has become a prime example of hard work and perseverance paying off.

7. Jared Spurgeon, Minnesota Wild

Vital statistics: 5-foot-9, 168 pounds

Jared Spurgeon is one of the smallest defensemen in the NHL in terms of height and weight. Even without the size of the traditional defenseman, Spurgeon has found a place in the league thanks to his impressive skating and puck movement.

Drafted 156th overall in 2008 by the New York Islanders, Spurgeon signed with the Minnesota Wild in 2010 after the Islanders did not sign him. Since joining the Wild, Spurgeon has been a reliable defender who can be counted on to put up solid point totals.

Spurgeon hit career-highs in 2018-19 in goals (14), assists (29), and points (43). Since then he has continued to pile up the points to the tune of 40 goals and 136 points in 276 games. He’s consistently among the top-20 defensemen in the league in goals, power-play goals, blocked shots, and time on ice. He was also named captain of the Wild for the 2020-21 season, so leadership is a strength of his too.

Unfortunately, an injury cut Spurgeon’s 2023-24 season short and limited him to only 16 games. He will look to rebound this season and return to the form that has made him one of the most valuable defensemen in Wild history. Despite being 5-foot-9, he’s built a mountain of a reputation in the State of Hockey, currently sitting second in all-time games played with 867, and first among defensemen in goals (110), assists (274), points (384), and power play goals (33).

6. Viktor Arvidsson, Edmonton Oilers

Vital statistics: 5-foot-9, 181 pounds

Viktor Arvidsson was drafted by the Predators 112th overall in 2014 after playing with Skellefteå AIK of the Swedish Hockey League. He signed his entry-level contract with the Predators that July and became a full-time NHLer in the 2016-17 season.

After joining the Predators, Arvidsson emerged as a key player, putting up 61 points in both of his first two full NHL seasons. In 2018-19, he set a new career-high in goals with 34, despite playing just 58 games. He regressed offensively in 2019-20 and 2020-21 recording only 25 goals in 107 games but has since turned it around in Los Angeles. Acquired by the Kings in the 2021 offseason for a couple of draft picks, he finished with 20 goals and 49 points in his first season, his best totals since that career season in 2018-19. He followed that up with another strong campaign in 2022-23 when he put up 26 goals and 59 points, finishing third in goals behind Anze Kopitar and Adrian Kempe.

Unfortunately, Arvidsson couldn’t build on that last season as he suffered a back injury in only his fourth game of the season. He missed 50 games, but still finished with six goals and 15 points in 18 games after he returned to the lineup in February. He decided not to re-sign with the Kings in the offseason, instead joining the high-flying Edmonton Oilers to play alongside Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Expect a huge season from the 5-foot-9 winger, assuming he stays healthy. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him surpass the 34 goals he had in 2018-19.

5. Mats Zuccarello, Minnesota Wild

Vital statistics: 5-foot-8, 179 pounds

Mats Zuccarello started his professional hockey career in his home country of Norway, with Frisk Asker. Next, he played in Sweden with MODO Hockey before signing with the New York Rangers as a free agent in 2010.

To adjust to the North American style, he originally played with the Rangers’ AHL club, the Connecticut Whale. In his NHL debut, he scored a shootout goal for the Rangers. He played 42 games with them that season, over multiple stints with the NHL club.

Zuccarello returned to the Rangers in March 2013, after joining the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) during the lockout. He finished the season with the Rangers and played through all of their postseason games. In 2013-14 he emerged as a top player for the team, earning 59 points (19 goals, 40 assists) in 77 regular-season games and was a key part of their Stanley Cup run that season.

Since his breakout year, he maintained his level of play with the Rangers­­, earning 352 points in 509 games. He was then traded to the Dallas Stars, where he played just three regular-season games and 13 playoff games (three points and 13 points, respectfully). In July 2019, Zuccarello signed with the Minnesota Wild.

Since joining the Wild, he has continued to be a consistent source of offense. In five seasons, he has 84 goals and 281 points in 324 games. Like most of the players on this list, he had a resurgent 2021-22 season. Finishing with a career-high 79 points, he helped key the Wild attack along with Kevin Fiala, Kirill Kaprizov and the surprising duo of Ryan Hartman and Marcus Foligno. Without Fiala in 2022-23, he was expected to at the very least hit those same numbers again, but fell a little short with only 22 goals and 67 points in 78 games. The decrease in offense may be explained by his superstar linemate Kaprizov being injured for a large part of the season, though.

Last season, Zuccarello fell further in the goal column, putting up only 12 goals compared to his 22 from 2022-23. He still racked up the assists with 51, but might be slowing down at 37 years old. Still, expect another 50-plus point season for the undrafted winger who has surprisingly played 835 games in the NHL and is closing in on the 700-point milestone.

4. Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens

Vital statistics: 5-foot-7, 166 pounds

Selected 15th overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 2019 NHL Draft, Cole Caufield has quickly become one of the best undersized players in the NHL. Bursting onto the scene as a 20-year-old during the 2020-21 season, he scored four goals and five points in 10 games and then was a key forward in the Canadiens’ improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final scoring four goals and 12 points in 20 games.

Going into the 2021-22 season, Caufield was almost unanimously predicted to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie based on his performance in the 2021 Playoffs and late in the 2020-21 regular season. Unfortunately, he got off to a horrid start and was eventually sent down to the AHL’s Laval Rocket to gain confidence and hone his game. The Canadiens were also off to a bad start, so bad in fact that head coach Dominique Ducharme was fired and replaced by Hall-of-Famer Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis getting hired behind the Canadiens’ bench was the best thing that could have happened to Caufield. Under St. Louis’ direction and leadership, he exploded to finish the season with 23 goals and 43 points in 67 games. His performance was so electric that he got back into the conversation for the Calder Trophy, which eventually went to Moritz Seider of the Detroit Red Wings.

Going into the 2022-23 season, Habs fans hoped that Caufield could continue where he left off and become the 50-goal scorer a lot of people envisioned for him after he was drafted. While he didn’t reach that mark, he did have another strong season with a career-high 26 goals in 46 games. He was lost to injury in late January, or he might have actually hit that 50-goal plateau if he had played a full season. Blessed with a goalscorer’s mentality and a pin-point accurate shot, the dynamic forward from Stevens Point, Wisconsin, should be part of this list for many seasons to come.

3. Alex DeBrincat, Detroit Red Wings

Vital statistics: 5-foot-7, 165 pounds

The 39th-overall selection in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft impressed early in his career as a Chicago Blackhawk. Alex DeBrincat was a player who many said wouldn’t make it due to his height. It’s safe to say he’s proved them wrong.

He broke into the league for the 2017-18 season, scoring 28 goals, and adding 24 assists for 52 points. His sophomore campaign was even better, putting up 41 goals, 35 assists and 76 points. Then after a bit of a down season where he only recorded 18 goals, 27 assists, and 45 points, he put up his second 30-goal season in 2020-21 in only 52 games. If the season had been the normal 82 games, he probably would have hit 40 goals for the second time in his career. Continuing his dominance in 2021-22, he matched his career-high of 41 goals and finished with two more points than his career season back in 2018-19.

Like Gaudreau, DeBrincat sported a new jersey in 2022-23 as the Blackhawks traded him to the Ottawa Senators in the offseason for a package of draft picks. He had a bit of a down year with only 27 goals and 66 points, but when you’ve already put up two 40-goal seasons in your career, more is expected. Now entering his second season with the Detroit Red Wings after being acquired after that short stint in Ottawa, he will look to build on the 27 goals and 67 points he had in his first season in the Motor City.

2. Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

Vital statistics: 5-foot-9, 181 pounds

Brad Marchand was drafted 71st overall by the Boston Bruins in 2006 and joined the team in 2008. He played a significant part in the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup win, as he scored 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 25 playoff games during those playoffs.

Marchand seems to get better every season, with 2018-19 setting career highs in points, with 100. He collected 36 goals and 64 assists to hit the century mark for the first time in his career. He was a big part of the Bruins’ playoff run again in that campaign, helping the team reach the Stanley Cup Final and leading the playoffs in points (23) before the team fell to the St. Louis Blues. Since then, he has put up four more 20-goal seasons and has eclipsed the 60-point plateau four more times as well. In fact, he recorded his fifth 30-goal and 80-point season in 2021-22 when he finished with 32 goals and 80 points in 70 games.

Even though he missed the beginning of the 2022-23 season due to offseason hip surgery, Marchand still put up 21 goals and 67 points in 73 games and helped the Bruins set a new regular season record for wins and points. He was also given the ‘C’ after Patrice Bergeron retired in the offseason. Needless to say, despite being undersized at 5-foot-9, he will probably go down as one of the most lethal goalscorers, not to mention pests in NHL history.

1. Jonathan Marchessault, Nashville Predators

Vital statistics: 5-foot-9, 174 pounds

Jonathan Marchessault played in the QMJHL and CHL and impressed with his scoring abilities. However, he was overlooked and undrafted due to his smaller size. He skated with the Rangers’ 2011 Traverse City tournament but was only offered an AHL contract with the Whale.

After scoring 24 goals and a team-high 40 assists in his rookie pro season, Marchessault signed a three-year entry deal with the Blue Jackets. He scored 108 points in 130 games for their AHL affiliate, while only appearing in two NHL games with Columbus before being moved again.

The Tampa Bay Lightning finally gave Marchessault his first real NHL shot by playing him in 47 regular-season games and seven postseason games in two and half seasons. His play in the 2015-16 season earned him a two-year contract with the Florida Panthers.

His one season in Florida put him on the NHL map, scoring 30 goals and 51 points but wasn’t enough for him to be protected in the Expansion Draft. The Vegas Golden Knights were the beneficiaries as he scored a career-high 75 points (27 goals, 48 assists) and was rewarded with a six-year, $5 million average annual value (AAV) contract.

Marchessault hasn’t matched the same point totals he put up in his first season with the Golden Knights, but he has continued to be a productive player. He already has six 20-goal seasons and has accumulated 150 goals and 348 points in 432 games since joining the team from Sin City. In fact, he recorded his first 30-goal season in Vegas in 2021-22 and his best overall point total (66) since 2017-18.

If that wasn’t impressive enough, Marchessault’s tour-de-force performance came in 2022-23 when he not only led the Golden Knights in goals in the regular season but in the postseason as well. He finished with 13 goals and 25 points in his team’s march to the Stanley Cup Final and walked away with the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the 2023 Playoffs. He also became the first undrafted player to win the trophy in its history.

Marchessault used that Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup championship as fuel for the 2023-24 season. He put up a career-high 42 goals, further cementing his status as not only the best undersized forward but one of the top goalscorers in the NHL today. Unfortunately for Golden Knights fans, he will be sporting a new jersey in 2024-25, as he signed with the Predators in free agency.

Honourable mentions: Brendan Gallagher, Conor Sheary, Tyler Johnson, and Torey Krug.