One guy I played with in high school, who went on to play a bit in the ECHL, was probably the physically strongest kid from our town, we called him “The Russian Bear,” guys would try to hit him and they’d bounce off [great hands too, on the power play I would literally just fire slap shots right at him, he had terrific hands and could tip anything - 'just keep it below the waist' was his only request']. Anyway, he played with a ‘tough guy’ and was messing around after practice, and said it was scary how strong the guy was, and he’d never tangle with him – and they were just messing around! Yikes.