"I hear people say he didn't have a great world junior but he was playing behind Brayden Schenn and Ryan Johansen and there's no shame in playing behind two older guys who are top-five drafts," the scout said. "He's a big centre who's capable of putting up big numbers, who can be very creative with the puck, but he's also a strong player when he doesn't have the puck and is committed to playing defence. He obviously has to fill out and get stronger but who doesn't like a big two-way centre who can be a first- or second-line centre in the NHL?"
--TSN, quoting a scout who still has Couturier ranked first overall.
One of the main arguments against drafting Sean Couturier and dropping him out of the top four picks in the 2011 NHL Entry draft is his lack of physical play. Because he doesn't use his size and build to hit opponents often, he's immediately referred to as "soft" and "lacking grit". But how often do the top centers in the league hit people? After the jump, we'll take a look.
Below is a list of the top 30 centers in the league who have played 40 or more games in 2010-2011. The list was quickly agreed upon by the writers at The Copper & Blue as well as a few SB Nation writers and a couple of friends. I lobbied for Frans Nielsen, alas, I was denied.
| Center | GP | Hits | H/G |
| Ryan Getzlaf | 65 | 181 | 2.785 |
| Jordan Staal | 41 | 67 | 1.634 |
| Ryan Kesler | 81 | 123 | 1.519 |
| Antoine Vermette | 80 | 118 | 1.475 |
| Forward Average | 1.355 | ||
| Mike Richards | 79 | 100 | 1.266 |
| Anze Kopitar | 75 | 92 | 1.227 |
| Mike Ribeiro | 80 | 92 | 1.150 |
| Center Average | 1.067 | ||
| Patrick Marleau | 80 | 85 | 1.063 |
| Steven Stamkos | 80 | 84 | 1.050 |
| Eric Staal | 79 | 81 | 1.025 |
| Patrick Sharp | 72 | 73 | 1.014 |
| Paul Stastny | 74 | 74 | 1.000 |
| Jonathan Toews | 78 | 73 | 0.936 |
| Pavel Datsyuk | 54 | 50 | 0.926 |
| Top 30 Average | 0.921 | ||
| Mikko Koivu | 69 | 63 | 0.913 |
| Nicklas Backstrom | 76 | 67 | 0.882 |
| Joe Pavelski | 72 | 57 | 0.792 |
| Jeff Carter | 78 | 59 | 0.756 |
| Sidney Crosby | 41 | 31 | 0.756 |
| Evgeni Malkin | 43 | 32 | 0.744 |
| Joe Thornton | 78 | 54 | 0.692 |
| Travis Zajac | 80 | 55 | 0.688 |
| Tomas Plekanec | 76 | 52 | 0.684 |
| Stephen Weiss | 75 | 50 | 0.667 |
| Patrice Bergeron | 79 | 44 | 0.557 |
| Mikhail Grabovski | 80 | 43 | 0.538 |
| Henrik Zetterberg | 80 | 38 | 0.475 |
| Brad Richards | 70 | 20 | 0.286 |
| Jason Spezza | 61 | 14 | 0.230 |
| Henrik Sedin | 81 | 15 | 0.185 |
The average hits/gm of those top 30 centers are highlighted in blue above - .921. I totaled all forwards in the league who have played 40+ games and their average hits per game is 1.355. I did the same for centers and the league-wide average is 1.067.
Top centers, both big and small, hit less often than an average center in the NHL. I could take the time to study ice-time and deliver hits per minute on ice, but a quick glance shows 19 centers on this list among the top 30 centers in ice time.
Holding Sean Couturier to some mythical physical play standard is asinine, especially when his future peer group does not meet that standard. Couturier dominates the ice through sheer power and size and is able to play a creative game down low through balance, skill and size. That he's already committed to playing in his own end is a bonus. As the scout says above "...who doesn't like a big two-way centre who can be a first- or second-line centre in the NHL?"