Successful NHL Players Under 6 Feet
Updated September 30, 2026
For generations, smaller hockey players have heard the same concern on their way toward the NHL: Are they big enough?
Updated September 30, 2026
For generations, smaller hockey players have heard the same concern on their way toward the NHL: Are they big enough?
Viggo Bjorck is the latest player being asked that question. The Winnipeg Jets selected the Swedish center eighth overall in the 2026 NHL Draft despite his smaller frame, and he has already done enough to make Winnipeg's opening roster as an 18-year-old.
The Jets currently list Bjorck at 5'9", 177 pounds, making him one of the shortest players on the roster. Winnipeg director of amateur scouting Mark Hillier perhaps summed it up best after the draft when he described Bjorck as "short, but I don't call him small."
There is also plenty of NHL history supporting that distinction. Patrick Kane is 5'10". Brad Marchand is 5'9". Martin St. Louis was 5'8". Theo Fleury was only 5'6". Some of the best forwards, defensemen and even goaltenders in league history have played below the six-foot mark.
And that isn't simply a historical trend. Several of the NHL's biggest stars today are under six feet, including Sidney Crosby, Nikita Kucherov, Kirill Kaprizov, Quinn Hughes, Cole Caufield and Connor Bedard.
So, how much should Bjorck 's height really concern the Jets? NHL history gives us a pretty long list to work with.
For this list, under six feet means 5'11" or shorter. Players officially listed at exactly 6'0" are not included.
The active group may be the strongest argument against automatically treating height as a major limitation. There are Stanley Cup champions, scoring champions, MVPs, Norris Trophy winners and some of the NHL's best young players here.
Player | Height | NHL success |
|---|---|---|
Mats Zuccarello | 5'8" | More than 700 career points and nearly 1,000 NHL games |
Cole Caufield | 5'8" | 51 goals in 2025-26, Lady Byng winner and NHL Second-Team All-Star |
Alex DeBrincat | 5'8" | Multiple 40-goal seasons and more than 200 career goals |
Logan Stankoven | 5'8" | 2026 Stanley Cup champion with Carolina |
Brad Marchand | 5'9" | Two-time Stanley Cup champion and member of the 1,000-point club |
Lane Hutson | 5'9" | 2025 Calder Trophy winner and one of the NHL's top young offensive defensemen |
Jonathan Marchessault | 5'9" | Stanley Cup champion and 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner |
Jared Spurgeon | 5'9" | More than 1,000 NHL games as a defenseman |
Patrick Kane | 5'10" | Three Stanley Cups, Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy |
Quinn Hughes | 5'10" | Norris Trophy winner and one of the NHL's elite offensive defensemen |
Kirill Kaprizov | 5'10" | Calder Trophy winner and 100-point scorer |
Clayton Keller | 5'10" | 500-point scorer with multiple 80-point seasons |
Jesper Bratt | 5'10" | Established top-line scorer after being drafted in the sixth round |
Connor Bedard | 5'10" | No. 1 overall pick and Calder Trophy winner |
Yanni Gourde | 5'10" | Two-time Stanley Cup champion |
Sidney Crosby | 5'11" | Three Stanley Cups, two Hart Trophies and two Conn Smythe Trophies |
Nikita Kucherov | 5'11" | Two Stanley Cups, Hart Trophy and multiple Art Ross Trophies |
Brayden Point | 5'11" | Two Stanley Cups and a 50-goal season |
Jack Hughes | 5'11" | No. 1 overall pick and 99-point scorer |
Jake Guentzel | 5'11" | Stanley Cup champion and multiple 40-goal seasons |
Adam Fox | 5'11" | Norris Trophy winner |
Juuse Saros | 5'11" | Vezina Trophy finalist and longtime NHL starting goaltender |
Some of the most interesting names are actually at the very bottom of the height range.
Caufield, listed at just 5'8", scored 51 goals in 2025-26, becoming Montreal's first 50-goal scorer since Stéphane Richer. DeBrincat, also 5'8", has spent much of his career proving that his junior scoring numbers weren't simply the product of playing against younger competition.
Then there is Logan Stankoven. At 5'8", 165 pounds, he was the smallest player on Carolina's roster during its run to the 2026 Stanley Cup, yet played a major role during the postseason.
Defensemen provide another useful comparison. Jared Spurgeon reached 1,000 NHL games at 5'9", while Lane Hutson won the Calder Trophy at the same height. Quinn Hughes stands only 5'10" and has already won the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.
None of that means size has stopped being relevant. It does show how far the NHL has moved from the idea that a top player needs to fit a particular physical template.
Viggo Bjorck is officially listed by the Winnipeg Jets at 5'9", 177 pounds entering the 2026-27 NHL season. Winnipeg had him at 5'9", 180 pounds at the draft, while other measurements during his development have varied slightly.
If you have seen Bjorck listed at 177 centimeters, that works out to just under 5'10", which helps explain why some listings have differed by an inch.
His weight may actually be more significant than his height. At around 180 pounds, Bjorck isn't an exceptionally light player. Patrick Kane has long been listed around 177 pounds, Brad Marchand is 180, Quinn Hughes is 180 and Alex DeBrincat is around 180 despite all four standing 5'10" or shorter.
Bjorck will still have to prove that his game translates against bigger and stronger NHL players, but he isn't entering unexplored territory.
The historical list goes even deeper.
Smaller players weren't simply able to find jobs in earlier eras. Many became Hall of Famers, captains, scoring champions and some of the defining players of their generations.
Player | Height | NHL success |
|---|---|---|
Theo Fleury | 5'6" | 1,088 points and a Stanley Cup championship |
Henri Richard | 5'7" | Hall of Famer and NHL-record 11-time Stanley Cup champion |
Yvan Cournoyer | 5'7" | Hall of Famer, 428 goals and 10 Stanley Cups |
Brian Gionta | 5'7" | Stanley Cup champion and 48-goal scorer |
Gump Worsley | 5'7" | Hall of Fame goaltender and four-time Stanley Cup champion |
Martin St. Louis | 5'8" | Hall of Famer, Hart Trophy, two Art Ross Trophies and Stanley Cup |
Ted Lindsay | 5'8" | Hall of Famer and four-time Stanley Cup champion |
Cliff Ronning | 5'8" | 869 career NHL points |
Max Bentley | 5'8" | Hall of Famer, Hart Trophy and Art Ross Trophy winner |
Bill Mosienko | 5'8" | Hall of Famer and 540-goal scorer |
Arturs Irbe | 5'8" | Two-time NHL All-Star and Stanley Cup Final starting goalie |
Stan Mikita | 5'9" | Hall of Famer, four Art Ross Trophies and two Hart Trophies |
Marcel Dionne | 5'9" | Hall of Famer with 731 goals and 1,771 points |
Joe Mullen | 5'9" | Hall of Famer, 502 goals and three Stanley Cups |
Daniel Briere | 5'9" | 696 regular-season points and 116 playoff points |
Johnny Gaudreau | 5'9" | 115-point season and seven-time NHL All-Star |
Dave Keon | 5'9" | Hall of Famer, four Stanley Cups and a Conn Smythe Trophy |
Howie Morenz | 5'9" | Hall of Famer and three-time Hart Trophy winner |
Rod Gilbert | 5'9" | Hall of Famer and 406-goal scorer |
Elmer Lach | 5'9" | Hall of Famer and Hart Trophy winner |
Bernie Geoffrion | 5'9" | Hall of Famer, Hart Trophy winner and two-time scoring champion |
Mike Vernon | 5'9" | Hall of Fame goaltender, two Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe Trophy |
Maurice Richard | 5'10" | Hall of Famer, 544 goals and eight Stanley Cups |
Bobby Hull | 5'10" | Hall of Famer, three Art Ross Trophies and two Hart Trophies |
Bobby Clarke | 5'10" | Hall of Famer, three Hart Trophies and two Stanley Cups |
Paul Kariya | 5'10" | Hall of Famer and 989 points in 989 games |
Denis Savard | 5'10" | Hall of Famer with 1,338 career points |
Pavel Bure | 5'10" | Hall of Famer and two-time 60-goal scorer |
Mark Recchi | 5'10" | Hall of Famer, 1,533 points and three Stanley Cups |
Pat LaFontaine | 5'10" | Hall of Famer with 1,013 points in 865 games |
Dino Ciccarelli | 5'10" | Hall of Famer and 608-goal scorer |
Phil Housley | 5'10" | Hall of Fame defenseman with 1,232 points |
Brian Rafalski | 5'10" | Three Stanley Cups and more than 500 points as a defenseman |
Kimmo Timonen | 5'10" | More than 1,100 games, 571 points and a Stanley Cup |
Brian Campbell | 5'10" | Stanley Cup champion and Lady Byng Trophy winner |
Tim Horton | 5'10" | Hall of Fame defenseman and four-time Stanley Cup champion |
Bernie Parent | 5'10" | Hall of Famer, two Vezina Trophies and two Conn Smythe Trophies |
Grant Fuhr | 5'10" | Hall of Fame goaltender, Vezina winner and five-time Stanley Cup champion |
Billy Smith | 5'10" | Hall of Fame goalie, four Stanley Cups and Conn Smythe Trophy |
Steve Yzerman | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, 1,755 points and three Stanley Cups |
Joe Sakic | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, 1,641 points and two Stanley Cups |
Pavel Datsyuk | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, two Stanley Cups and three Selke Trophies |
Doug Gilmour | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, 1,414 points and Stanley Cup champion |
Adam Oates | 5'11" | Hall of Famer with 1,420 career points |
Dale Hawerchuk | 5'11" | Hall of Famer with 1,409 career points |
Bryan Trottier | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, six Stanley Cups and a Hart Trophy |
Daniel Alfredsson | 5'11" | Hall of Famer with 1,157 career points |
Ray Bourque | 5'11" | Hall of Famer, five Norris Trophies and 1,579 points |
Doug Harvey | 5'11" | Hall of Fame defenseman and seven-time Norris Trophy winner |
Glenn Hall | 5'11" | Hall of Fame goalie and three-time Vezina winner |
Tony Esposito | 5'11" | Hall of Fame goalie and three-time Vezina winner |
Older height listings can vary slightly depending on the source and era, particularly for players whose careers predate standardized NHL measurements. The figures above reflect commonly used NHL and historical listings.
The quality at the top of that table is remarkable. Henri Richard stood 5'7" and won more Stanley Cups than anyone in NHL history. Yvan Cournoyer, also 5'7", scored 428 goals and won 10 championships. Marcel Dionne was 5'9" and finished with 1,771 points, one of the highest totals in league history.
Martin St. Louis may be the clearest modern-era example. At 5'8", he wasn't drafted and spent years fighting the assumption that his size would prevent him from becoming an NHL star. He eventually won the Hart Trophy as league MVP, two scoring titles and the Stanley Cup before entering the Hockey Hall of Fame. St. Louis has since spoken about how players such as Kane, Zuccarello and Gaudreau continued opening doors for smaller players who followed him.
At 5'6", Theo Fleury is one of the shortest players ever to become an NHL star. He wasn't merely a depth player who managed to overcome his size; Fleury scored 455 goals and 1,088 points during his career and helped Calgary win the Stanley Cup in 1989.
Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Brian Gionta and Gump Worsley all succeeded at around 5'7", while Martin St. Louis became an NHL MVP at 5'8".
Those examples also put Bjorck's 5'9" frame into perspective. He is short relative to the average NHL player, but several Hall of Famers who were his height or shorter became some of the best players in the history of the sport.
There will naturally be comparisons between Bjorck and Patrick Kane simply because of their size and skill.
Kane is currently listed at 5'10", 177 pounds, almost exactly the same playing weight as Bjorck. He entered the NHL as the No. 1 overall pick in 2007 despite questions about whether his frame would hold up at the professional level.
Nearly two decades later, those concerns look rather insignificant. Kane has won three Stanley Cups, the Hart Trophy, Art Ross Trophy and Conn Smythe Trophy, and he remains an active NHL player in 2026 after returning to Chicago.
That doesn't mean Bjorck is going to become Patrick Kane. It does show why height by itself tells us relatively little about the ceiling of an exceptionally skilled prospect.
The same applies to Brad Marchand. He is 5'9", 180 pounds and has built a career of more than 1,000 points while winning two Stanley Cups. Marchand hasn't succeeded by avoiding physical hockey, either. Physical engagement has been a defining part of his game throughout his career.
The discussion around height becomes even more interesting on defense, where size and reach were once viewed almost as prerequisites.
That has changed.
Quinn Hughes stands 5'10", 180 pounds and has already won the Norris Trophy. Adam Fox is 5'11" and has also won the Norris. Lane Hutson is only 5'9" and won the Calder Trophy before producing 78 points in his second NHL season. Jared Spurgeon reached 1,000 games despite being listed at 5'9".
Smaller defensemen still have to find solutions that larger players don't. They generally have less reach and cannot rely as heavily on strength when separating opponents from the puck. The tradeoff is that elite skating, positioning, puck movement and anticipation can compensate for much of that disadvantage.
Hughes is perhaps the clearest example of how much the position has evolved. At one point a 5'10" defenseman could expect his height to dominate scouting discussions. Today, a player that size can be regarded as the best defenseman in the league.
Yes, but probably not in the simplistic way it once did.
A taller player naturally has greater reach, while added size can help along the boards, around the crease and when defending possession. Goaltender is one position where height remains particularly noticeable because larger goalies naturally cover more of the net. Juuse Saros has spent his career as an unusual exception at 5'11", succeeding in a position increasingly dominated by much taller players.
But size is only one physical characteristic.
Balance, lower-body strength, skating, acceleration and the ability to anticipate contact all affect whether a smaller player can handle NHL competition. Marchand plays a radically different game from Kane despite being roughly the same size. St. Louis was exceptionally strong. Hughes avoids pressure through skating and puck movement. Caufield creates shooting opportunities before defenders can use their size against him.
The best smaller players don't succeed because height doesn't matter at all. They succeed because other parts of their game matter more.
We are going to find out.
Bjorck is only 18 and has yet to prove himself over an NHL season. Making Winnipeg's opening roster immediately after being selected eighth overall is an impressive first step, but his development is only beginning.
There will be situations where his 5'9" frame works against him, particularly as he adjusts to NHL strength, speed and physicality.
There is also little reason to treat his height as a ceiling by itself.
A 5'9" player becoming an NHL star would hardly be unprecedented. Stan Mikita and Marcel Dionne became Hall of Famers at that height. Brad Marchand has surpassed 1,000 points. Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy. Jared Spurgeon played 1,000 games on defense.
And one inch above Bjorck sits Patrick Kane, a player whose size was once considered one of the biggest questions surrounding his NHL future.
Almost 20 years later, nobody remembers Patrick Kane because he was 5'10".
They remember how good he was.
