[News] Wolf named AHL MVP and goaltender of the year

[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.

[DinnerDog]

Originally Posted by Reggie Dunlop

The award is a bit superfluous I suppose, but why not?

The award is awarded for Excellence in the Field of Excellence.

The First Annual President's Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence.

[DeluxeMoustache]

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.

Good question. Not sure how to know.

What I do know is that there is no shortage of goalies less than 6 feet tall that have done pretty well

Arturs Irbe was 5’8”. His career stats are skewed imo from the brutal SJ team, but he was very good in Carolina

Tim Thomas did ok for himself at 5’11”. Saros is also 5’11”

Kiprusoff and Hasek were both 6’1” and they were not too shabby

I’m sure the height helps blocking style goalies with a shot here and there, but maybe for some it may take a split second longer to seal up the 5 hole.

Either way, if a goalie is good, he is good. How they read and anticipate the play, reflexes, hand eye, rebound control - even the compete when they abandon technique and make desperation saves, lots of things make a goalie effective other than height

I know they are really impressed with how he thinks the game and reads the play. Hopefully he ends up having similar success at the NHL level as in the AHL

[FlamesAddiction]

There are some things that height just naturally gives you an advantage in obviously, but if he was taller, he likely wouldn't have developed his other skills in the same ways. He is the player he is because he is shorter than most other goalies. Whether or not this translates to NHL success, we will find out.

[FanIn80]

Originally Posted by Samonadreau

For as much as Goalies are voodoo, Wolf has done everything at every single level. Tough not to get your hopes up.

2x WHL Goalie of the Year
1x CHL Goalie of the Year
2x AHL Goalie of the Year
1x AHL MVP
and whatever this player excellence award is

This kid is special

Please. Talk to me when he wins the Heisman.

[tkflames]

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.

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.

[Locke]

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.

It always reminds me of 'Moneyball' where some scouts are too focused on physical attributes rather than skills and talents.

Can Wolf make the jump to the Show? Its not going to be seamless or anything, it rarely is with goalies, but will he be given the chance?

This more or less goes to show that he's got nothing left to prove in the AHL.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by shutout

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.

It is probably more like an extra 4 or 5 inches covering the bottom of the net, since all goalies have two legs.


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[Locke]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It is probably more like an extra 4 or 5 inches covering the bottom of the net, since all goalies have two legs.


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So far!

[Ford Prefect]

Never know. There was a one-armed pitcher in MLB which would have seemed rather unlikely. A one-legged goalie would have a prosthetic … so maybe?

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

Never know. There was a one-armed pitcher in MLB which would have seemed rather unlikely. A one-legged goalie would have a prosthetic … so maybe?

Well there was that crazy South African runner with no legs and he did alright until he got a little 'shooty shooty.'

Maybe we can get a Robocop in net?

[Ford Prefect]

The bionic goalie.

[Locke]

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

The bionic goalie.

We have the technology!

[Calgary4LIfe]

In the Conroy interview in the other thread (and I didn't see it mentioned there actually), I found Conroy's opinion on Wolf really interesting. In all fairness, Kerr was leading with the question, so perhaps this isn't 100% how Conroy really feels, but he said something similar to:


"At this point, Wolf has to prove that he ISN'T an NHL goalie, rather than prove that he is one. Most prospects have to prove that they belong in the NHL, and after all of Wolf's accomplishments, he basically has to prove that he doesn't belong."


I took it as a huge vote of confidence for Wolf.

[tvp2003]

Wolf deserves a shot, what he does with it (this year and in future years) is up to him. I do think Markstrom will bounce back next year so hopefully it’s a good tandem regardless.

Also, you can’t just measure square footage because a taller, heavier guy isn’t going to be as quick or explosive as Wolf. Flexibility plays into it as well. Goaltending has also evolved from being a blocker with the smaller equipment; Saros is a great example and hopefully Wolf will follow in his footsteps.

Originally Posted by Ford Prefect

Never know. There was a one-armed pitcher in MLB which would have seemed rather unlikely. A one-legged goalie would have a prosthetic … so maybe?

I’m assuming you mean Jim Abbott — he had two arms but only one hand. The interesting thing is that he was an excellent fielder, likely because he knew he had to be (as otherwise the other team would try to bunt on him to get on base).

[Ford Prefect]

Right. And yes…his fielding was amazing for what he had to work with. Didn’t he throw a no hitter too?

[Textcritic]

Stop talking about baseball. It sucks.

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[Ford Prefect]

Sorry. I’ll show myself out.

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by Calgary4LIfe

In the Conroy interview in the other thread (and I didn't see it mentioned there actually), I found Conroy's opinion on Wolf really interesting. In all fairness, Kerr was leading with the question, so perhaps this isn't 100% how Conroy really feels, but he said something similar to:


"At this point, Wolf has to prove that he ISN'T an NHL goalie, rather than prove that he is one. Most prospects have to prove that they belong in the NHL, and after all of Wolf's accomplishments, he basically has to prove that he doesn't belong."


I took it as a huge vote of confidence for Wolf.

I hope they try him early and often in the NHL season, this season. I believe Conroy and Huska are the right guys for that. Treliving and Sutter were not.

[Eb0la11]

They need to address the three headed monster. Need to move on from Vladar and get a decent return from him. Maybe they will let him play a few extra games to start the year and build his stats a bit then trade him?