[GT] WJC Day 1: SUI vs SVK (12pm MT), GER vs FIN (4pm MT), RUS vs USA (7:30pm MT)

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

Carter Hart is 6'2". Thatcher Demko is 6'4". Dustin Wolf is 6'0".

I think you are badly under-selling the ongoing importance of size and reach to the position. We have been talking about the demise of big goalies with equipment changes for years and yet here we are where the reigning Vezina trophy and Stanley Cup winner is a big, lanky goalie who moves really well.

Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Wow, a goalie who moves well, exactly. I said the era of big BLOCKING goalies is coming to and end. You don't just get to randomly try and call me out on my opinion when you pick and choose which part to argue.

End of the day, 6'0 isn't small by any measure. And his talent so far more than compensates for any perceived shortcomings of size. And I definitely don't think the difference between six feet and six foot two is that advantageous over the other.

Its going to fun watching wolfs development unfold. Because he is probably the most complete goalie prospect the Flames have. Despite the over dramatic concerns about his size. Which hasn't stopped him yet.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dammage79

Wow, a goalie who moves well, exactly. I said the era of big BLOCKING goalies is coming to and end. You don't just get to randomly try and call me out on my opinion when you pick and choose which part to argue.

I do when the point you are making depends on you hand-waving at something as crucial as size for goalies.

End of the day, 6'0 isn't small by any measure. And his talent so far more than compensates for any perceived shortcomings of size. And I definitely don't think the difference between six feet and six foot two is that advantageous over the other.

If this were true, then the league would have an equal distribution between large and smaller goalies. It so happens that there is a rather sizeable dispartity which sees tall, lanky goalies continue to dominate.

Its going to fun watching wolfs development unfold. Because he is probably the most complete goalie prospect the Flames have. Despite the over dramatic concerns about his size. Which hasn't stopped him yet.

It certainly will be fun, and maybe Wolf will be the one to prove all the experts wrong. Wolf is most definitely not the first under-sized CHL goalie to have a highly successful junior career, however, that remains a far cry from playing in the NHL. But let's at least be honest about the very difficult row he has yet to hoe, and how much the odds are stacked against him from living up to your grandiose hopes. I really like Wolf as a prospect, but he is still a little guy in a big-man's role in the game.

[djsFlames]

Originally Posted by Sandman

Wolf's size will always be a detriment in the eyes of most of the hockey world. In the Hockey News' most recent edition of the Future Watch (for reference), Wolf wasn't listed in the top 100 prospects, and wasn't ranked in the top-10 for goalies. Spencer Knight was the 5th highest rated prospect, 2nd for goalies behind Shesterkin (and we all know that Shesterkin has graduated from being a prospect to being an NHL player). Other publications I've read have put Wolf pretty low on their lists too. I personally think it's BS, but that's the perception that's out there.

Good, let him bust onto the scene as a nobody. I prefer it when scouts are wrong about our guys.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by dammage79

6'1 when he is done growing hopefully...

There is no reason at all to expect that Wolf will continue to grow. It is just as likely—probably moreso likely—that he has topped out at 6'0".

This is nothing but baseless hope.


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[dammage79]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

There is no reason at all to expect that Wolf will continue to grow. It is just as likely—probably moreso likely—that he has topped out at 6'0".

This is nothing but baseless hope.


Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

Holy hell guy. Chill out with the down talking .

The fact I have to defend a "maybe" to slake your thirst to talk down to a differing opinion is pretty ridiculous.

Have a drink and get a hug or something. Damn grump.

[Nelson]

On 31 Thoughts, Francois Allaire said small goalies could succeed, but they would need to be exceptional at something to make up for their decreased size. So, I think Wolf could be a good goalie, but he’ll have to have a characteristic that makes up for being short, like excellent movement, an ability to read the play very well, etc.

From my (very) limited viewings, Wolf seems to move well in the net, be composed and read the play well.

Time will tell whether any of Wolf’s strengths are strong enough to make up for his size.

[djsFlames]

Kipper was the best goalie on the planet for a couple years and he is 5'11.

Goaltending didn't suddenly become solely contingent on being big in 15 years.

I think some guys around the game are leaning too heavily into that just because some big guys won the Vezina recently.

Talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

[Nelson]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Kipper was the best goalie on the planet for a couple years and he is 5'11.

Goaltending didn't suddenly become solely contingent on being big in 15 years.

I think some guys around the game are leaning too heavily into that just because some big guys won the Vezina recently.

Talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

Kiprusoff is a great example of what Allaire was saying.

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by djsFlames

Kipper was the best goalie on the planet for a couple years and he is 5'11.

???

Milka Kiprusoff's listed playing-height was 6'1".

Goaltending didn't suddenly become solely contingent on being big in 15 years.

Not suddenly, but there is little question that size is a really important aspect of the position over the course of the last fifteen years. I think it is pretty clearly more important today than it was when Kiprusoff played. But the biggest difference between now and then is not size; it is the fact that all the big goalies who make it are just as agile, as quick, and as prescient as the smaller guys who don't.

I think some guys around the game are leaning too heavily into that just because some big guys won the Vezina recently.

Talent comes in many shapes and sizes.

It is not just "some big guys." It is the easily quantifiable majority of NHL goalies in today's game. Talent alone is not enough; talent with size is the golden ticket, which explains precisely why so few smaller goalies become little more than NHL journeymen.

I am rooting for Wolf, but I don't see how it serves anyone's purpose to remain willfully ignorant about the current history of NHL goalies.



Sent from my SM-G960W using Tapatalk

[Bonded]

Originally Posted by TheScorpion

Knight is beeg.

Well beeg got some interesting search results. What does that mean?

[Textcritic]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Well beeg got some interesting search results. What does that mean?

It mans that Spencer Knight is 6'3" tall.

[AC]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It mans that Spencer Knight is 6'3" tall.

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by Textcritic

It mans that Spencer Knight is 6'3" tall.

Spencer Knight went 13th overall and Dustin Wolf went 214th, so we're already getting a great return.

[TheScorpion]

Originally Posted by Bonded

Well beeg got some interesting search results. What does that mean?

Oh my. I just looked it up, too. Er, that wasn't what I expected to say the least.

Yes, I was just intentionally misspelling "big" for comedic effect.