These kids are just so strong today playing on the tour, it's frightening. This course was considered rather lengthy when we finished it a few years ago, and it's not anymore. Once upon a time, hockey was played with seven players to a side. Like basketball and football, the athletes are simply too fast and too strong for the restrictions of their playing surface. Especially in the NHL, where rink sizes are determined mostly by arenas built with basketball in mind.
European rinks tend to be larger, allowing skaters more freedom and offenses more options.
The game has been quickened, too, by coaching strategies that have seen player shifts on the ice decrease from as much as three or four minutes in the 1950s to less than one minute. Because players are on the ice for such a brief period, they are fresh enough to cover a lot of territory. Four skaters and a goalie would accentuate skaters and puck position. It would increase the role of the goalie, but we've already seen that in recent years. Of all the major sports, this change would represent the most severe attempt to adjust to the modern athlete.