Quote:
Originally Posted by shutout
I wonder how many goals a year the average NHL starting goaltender would end up saving if they were 2" taller?
Wolf at 5'11"-6'0" is considered to short, but if he was 6'2" he would have been a top 3 round pick at worst. How much does that extra 2" help?
Couple of extra inches on wingspan.
Height of shoulders to the crossbar. (two pucks of space)
Couple of extra inches covering the bottom of the net.
Impossible to quantify.
But curious as to how much of a difference it actually makes.
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Interesting question...my thoughts are it comes down to limited albeit some comparable. However taking a purely mathematical approach with assumptions.
Given that a goalie stands in very much a star formation and all reach the crossbar, let's make the following assumptions for debate:
1. With all gear arms are 8" wide, legs are 15" wide
2. Each arm is 1" longer, each leg is 2" longer (technically 1"-1.5", with yhe torso bent into the net at the butt - but lets assume..
3. The net is 6x4 =3456 sq-in
6-2 goalie vs 6-0 goalie: 76sq inch coverage difference 2.2%
6-6 vs 6-0 goalie: 276sq inch coverage difference 8.0%
So...if you assume that 5 shots a game, the puck just hits the goalie or the save is made at reach based extremities, then the 6-0 goalie would need to overcome their counterpart using superior reflexes positioning and side to side movement by the following:
6-2: 8 goal differential
6-6: 32 goal differential
Again...this rudimentary math isn't saying a shorter goalie will give up more goals...just that he/she needs to make up for the gap using reflexes, side to side movement and positioning at a more elite level than the average taller nhl goalie.