Quote:
Originally Posted by GioforPM
You are cherry picking. There are as many, if not more, more tall and talented players in the NHL. For every Fleury, there’s a Lindros, and more. For every Crosby in a given year, there’s Ovie, Thornton, Perry, Getzlaf, Marceau. I do not think smaller players are innately more skilled.
But more to the point - for goalies size is an advantage for obvious reasons, and there’s no evidence smaller goalies are better at anything in particular.
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re: bolded
Smaller players aren't more innately skilled. However 95% of (pre-selected) players are shorter than 6'2. You're more likely to find high talent levels searching in a group of 950 players than a group of 50 players.
Again, size is one potential advantage, but it's treated as a prerequisite relative to every other aspect of puck-stopping. At a position where positioning, awareness, quickness, and mental toughness are paramount.
And size can be a disadvantage if it affects agility.