"Smaller goalies can move quicker, see the play develop better, and deal with shots with greater ease due to their superior agility."

There has been a debate for years in hockey about the relative effectiveness of larger goaltenders. Many believe the bigger you are, the better you can defend your net, especially because of the butterfly style many goalies choose to play. However, many also believe that smaller goalies are just as effective at stopping pucks – and in some cases more effective.

There has been a recent trend of teenage hockey goaltenders wanting to be bigger. When you look at hockey, the more videos and highlights you watch, the more goalies seem to grow in size. Today, it’s not uncommon to see 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4, 165 pound + teenagers playing ice hockey. However, if we start looking at the best goalies in the history of the hockey, often they don’t have what today‘s amateur/junior and professional players do: mass and stature.

Juuse Saros

Looking at NHL goaltending today, it has never been in a better place: smaller, more mobile, and poised goalies are thriving. Case in point: Juuse Saros from the Nashville Predators. Saros recently racked up a franchise-record 64 saves in a 5-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. He also represented his team at the NHL All-Star weekend. At 5-foot-11 and 180 pounds, he is considered small by today’s standards.

Dustin Wolf

Another example is Dustin Wolf, who at 6 feet tall and 160 pounds; he was considered to be too small to ever play professionally. Not only did he play last year for the Calgary Flames AHL team, the Stockton Heat, but he was also named to the All-Rookie Team, was a 1st Team All-Star, along with being named the AHL Goalie of the Year. In this, his sophomore year, he was named to the Pacific All-Star team. He is tops in the AHL for games won and his stats are near the top in many categories. Not bad for the 7th round, 214th pick of the 2019 NHL Entry Draft (3rd last pick of the draft).

Thomas Milic

In this year’s World Junior Tournament, where would have Team Canada’s Junior ended up, without the stellar play of Thomas Milic? Who at 6-feet feet tall and 174 pounds is considered small in this age of goaltenders. The 19-year-old ended the tournament with an impressive 1.76 GAA and a noteworthy .932 SV%, along with a gold medal around his neck. How much more effective can a goalie be on such a grand stage?

From my perspective, all this does is support an argument that smaller goalies may be better suited for high-level performance than their larger counterparts.

Small vs. Large

The five reasons why smaller goaltenders may be more effective than larger ones are as follows:

1. Smaller goalies have better field vision that enables them to see shots coming from all angles. Providing them an advantage over the larger goaltender who can only look down one side of his body at any time.
2. Smaller goalies have more flexibility when moving side-to-side and vertically through their butterfly-style saves than their larger counterparts. This allows them to make saves on shots that would otherwise go through or around their bodies.
3. Smaller goalies are faster on their feet (and hands) than larger ones because they aren’t carrying as much weight around with them at any given time during play.
4. When it comes to one-on-one situations with shooters, smaller goalies may be less susceptible to giving up rebounds or allowing goals by being out of position.
5. Smaller hockey goalies are more effective than larger ones because they have a quicker reaction time and can get into position faster.

With new goaltending techniques and equipment development, goalie sizes have increased over time. However, there are still some smaller goalies that may be more effective than these larger counterparts. Smaller goalies can move quicker, see the play develop better, and deal with shots with greater ease due to their superior agility.

Stop. The. Puck.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to choose a smaller goalie, there are legitimate reasons why smaller goalies may be more effective. Larger goalies have their strengths as well, but with so many factors to consider, the size of the goalie should not be the reason a goalie is overlooked. It’s reasonable to assume there will be less variability between larger and smaller goalies than in past years. In the end, the role of a goalie is to stop the puck, be resilient and give their team a chance to win. This why some of the smaller goalies are thriving and making it difficult for teams not to choose them.