Blackhawks' Dustin Byfuglien Handles Weighty Issue

CHICAGO -- Instead of carnies, Dustin Byfuglien lets hockey pundits guess his weight.

"It's kind of funny hearing all the different numbers," the sturdy Chicago Blackhawks forward said. "I'm never going to let you know what the true number is."

The 6-foot-4 Byfuglien is listed at 257 pounds in the Stanley Cup 2010 media guide the team passed out to reporters during media day at the United Center on Thursday. It's the same weight listed on NHL.com and on his FanHouse bio.

Some say his true playing weight could be a little north of that, not that it's hindered him of late. Byfuglien, 25, leads the Blackhawks with eight goals -- one more than linemates Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, as well as Patrick Sharp -- entering Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Philadelphia Flyers here on Saturday.

In fact, he's made the most of his size advantage as the 'Hawks dismissed the Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks and San Jose Sharks through the first three rounds. He's been a fixture in front of the opposing net, tapping in rebounds, deflecting shots and being an overall nuisance.

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"I don't want to question his size," Kane said with a smirk. "I think it helps him out a lot. He's a big man. One of the things about that is that he's big, but he can skate, he has hands and has one of the best shots in the league. You put that all together, it can be a deadly combination and you've see that in these playoffs."

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said it wasn't Byfuglien's girth that concerned him the most.

"[Byfuglien] probably had an inconsistent [regular] season compared to the way he's played now," said Quennville, who used Byfuglien on defense at times. "I think that's probably been the M.O. on Buff throughout his career."

This series, Byfuglien goes up against a taller -- albeit a bit lighter -- opponent in Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger. The affable, but sometimes prickly Pronger, didn't let reporters in how he was going to handle Byfuglien prior to the start of the series.

"You honestly think I'm going to tell you that?" Pronger asked rhetorically. "Come on, man. I'm not going to tell you that."

Byfuglien gave some indication what he expects.

"It's not going to be easy," Byfuglien said "He's going to try to get in front and try to get in position. That's something I'm just going to have to do and make sure that I get positioned first."

Outside of John Madden and Marian Hossa, there isn't much Stanley Cup experience for a Blackhawks franchise that is making its first finals entry since 1992. Byfuglien said he dreamed about playing for a Cup as a child in the small, north-central Minnesota town of Roseau, but he didn't realize there would be these kinds of demands off the ice.

"I'm enjoying it," said Byfuglien when asked if he like all the media attention. "It's something as a kid you don't think about."

And as far as the questions about his weight, he's waiting for them.

"You are probably going to ask me until I'm done playing," Byfuglien said. "Maybe you'll still ask about my weight then. It's going to be an issue I'll have to deal with."