I used to run into NHL players occasionally when I worked near Madison Square Garden in NYC. I swear those guys have phony personal measurements listed in their profiles. Messier looked big on the ice but seemed more average sized in person. Brian Leetch was listed as 6’0” but he couldn’t have been more than 5’8” when I saw him up close. Scott Stevens was the scariest athlete I’ve ever seen. He was only about an inch taller than me, but it seemed like every body part of his was at least 25% larger than a normal human — head, hands, feet, etc.
The company I used to work for was run by someone who had been an executive with the Ottawa Senators during their first two or three seasons. Because of that, he knew Brad Marsh (the long time defenceman for Atlanta, Calgary, Philly, Toronto, Detroit, and then Ottawa for his last season and he was one of the last helmetless players in the league). Back some ten years or so ago, this boss of mine told me to go to the bar and grill Marsh ran at the time to help book the company Christmas party. So I got to meet Brad, a very nice and personable fellow. And then about a year later, I got to meet Brad again at a local golf tournament and he remembered me because of the party and the connection with the boss I had. One thing I remember about Marshy in person was the big, strong hands he had and what it was like to shake hands with him, lol.
At the same golf tournament, they also had Noel Price, who played in the NHL during the 1960s and 1970s, and I was lucky enough to have him in the foursome I was with. While certainly not of the same caliber as Bobby Hull or Phil Esposito or Bobby Orr or anyone else like that, Noel was filled with all sorts of neat stories about the game back then and the players and everyone else. BTW, the main celebrity guest was Yvon Cournoyer and I got to meet him and get his autograph. And he was a lot of fun as well.