The actual weight of Toronto Maple Leafs prospect Mitch Marner is harder to understand than why legions of grown adults are chasing Pokemon cards in 2016.

The Toronto Maple Leafs prospects weight fluctuates from 150-175 lbs throughout websites on the internet, depending on where you look.

After more than two years of hearing one pundit after another knock Marner for being too small, I fully expected to see a super-skinny version of Danny Devito on skates attempting dangles before being drilled into the ice. But when the Toronto Maple Leafs held their scrimmages in their annual Development Camp, Marner did not resemble anything close to this.

In the now infamous battle in the corner with the #1 draft pick of 2016 Auston Matthews, I had to watch the clip again to see who was who. That is saying a lot about the compete in Marner, as according to the physical stats, that battle should not have been close.

Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews battling along the wall. #Leafs pic.twitter.com/V8Qu18nTfC — Michael Augello (@MikeInBuffalo) July 7, 2016

Pay close attention to how the much smaller Marner instantly goes low on the taller, heavier Matthews to use leverage to negate the size difference. It is clear that he has been taught how to play against larger opponents. It reminded me of someone else who had a major size deficiency but never let it stop him.

Mike Tyson was barely over 5’10, and despite being built like a tank, he had a tremendous reach disadvantage. So he honed his skills and learned to get himself on the inside of many larger, older fighters.

You will be hard-pressed to find many similarities between Marner and Tyson, but they both understand how to successfully compete as the smaller guy.

Sometimes, it is not what your size is but how you use it. Do you remember when the Leafs drafted Nik Antropov and Alexei Ponikarovsky? No matter what they tried, they could not bring out a mean streak in those giants. Toronto Maple Leafs brass even had Antropov in boxing lessions!

Some of my favourite NHL players have been on the small side. Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi, Doug Gilmour, just to name a few. Those Toronto Maple Leafs all had more heart than 99% of any players I can think of from any era. The point is, a players size is not always as important as his drive. I can tell you that If you threw a puck in the corner and it was between Mitch Marner v. Nik Antropov, I know who my money would be on.