A few years ago, an NHL scout arrived at high school and junior games early, so he could put his tape on the wall near the locker rooms of both teams.  True story.   Players had to be taller than 183 centimeters, or the scout wasn’t allowed to bring up their name as a prospect — especially if this happened to be a defenseman.

Being 181cm just wouldn’t cut it, regardless of other incidental factors such as skating, rink sense and competitiveness.   Using his metric tape, this scout had to report to a general manager who liked the nice round English number, six feet.

“ I don’t even want to hear about kids who aren’t six feet,” he’d grumble.   “Don’t even bring up their names.”

The average height of the defensemen on their NHL team at the time was 6-foot-4.   The more important statistic, really, was that the combined reach of an extended arm and stick to one side was eight feet.   This meant that two of these goons could defend 40 percent of their blue line without moving.

So they didn’t move much — just enough to turn right in order to hook — or left to slash.

And their coaches were called geniuses, drawing X’s and O’s on the board for the press conference after another exciting defensive struggle.

“Yeah. Da players really play da system tonight.   We take pride in 0-0 games, because da trap work good when we get everyone together — eh?”

Everyone, of course included the officials, because without allowing the defense to interfere, hook, slash, and trip, the neutral zone trap just doesn’t work very well.   Think of playing defense, standing flat-footed at your blue line when you’re not allowed to use your stick illegally.   You’d have nightmares about stopping Martin St. Louis or any forward skating 100 miles per hour with the puck moving one way while their head and shoulders are moving the other.

All of a sudden, NHL teams aren’t marking the walls at 6 feet anymore.   Instead they’re looking all over the world for defensemen who can skate, anticipate and make smart plays.

And defensive forwards can’t just skate up and down the ice, finishing checks and locking onto their wing on the backcheck.

To win in this new NHL game, you must have possession of the puck more than the opponent.  You have to make creative scoring plays and dominate on the power play.  It’s back to the premise that the most skillful team wins.   The term “make plays” is back in vogue, after a 30-year exile.  It doesn’t matter anymore whether a player is 6-6 or 5-6. The question is, “Can he make plays?”

Sidney Crosby can definitely make plays — so he’s turning the game upside down as a rookie.  He’s brilliant at finding linemates open in the slot or driving to the net.   But, if someone were smothering those linemates with the heavy stick, Crosby’s genius play-making would be nullified — and spectators would be heading off to watch poker.

Young defensemen better get to the outside rinks this winter and work on agility skating drills.  The new measure of your value isn’t a mark on the wall.   Scouts want to see if you can skate well enough to stay in front of the Crosby’s you play against.  They’ll be interested in passing skills, stickhandling, anticipation, gritty competitiveness, and yes — toughness.

They’ll want to know how tough you are.  Two years ago that might have meant something different than it does today.  Tough defensemen in the NHL of 2003 broke arms with their heavy sticks.   Now, coaches want to know if you’re tough enough to block shots, take a big hit as you break the puck out of the corner, and play the body against a big strong forward who can control the puck against three opponents in a phone booth.

Even if referees at your level don’t get the message yet, every time you reach with your stick to stop an opponent, you are teaching yourself to be a poor defensive player.   Eventually, every official at every level will call it as they do now in the NHL: If you use your stick on defense, it’s an automatic penalty.

You want to play at higher levels of hockey?   Stop bulking up; no one cares what you weigh.  Start skating.  Practice stick-handling skills.  Make great passes.   The game has passed up those goons whose greatest asset was that they towered above the tape at 183cm or could reach halfway across the rink with their stick.

The new game is about skill.