I was a goalie from a poor family, so most of my equipment was donated. I played with regular skates for four years. I never owned a pair of goalie skates. I was told I was a really good goalie, but when I went to a new province with a single Mom who couldn't afford new equipment, I was playing with donated stuff. I was relentlessly teased by the kids who came from wealthy families and I ended up quitting. Who knows how far I could have gone, but it can be a mean spirited game from the get go
Personally I would say the ideal goalie height is 6'1-6'3. I think that is a height u don't lose that much of your speed but still have enough size to cover more easily. I feel 5'11 is already a lot on the smaller side and has to compensate for size. U need to have elite pucktracking and movement to make it at that height. On your point about pucktracking being better when smaller, I think that is the case too but bigger goalies can also practise upon that but smaller goalies can't improve as much in covering the net. When you are smaller u need to have more skill, just like with skaters. Smaller goalies go often overlooked like we have seen with Petteri Rimpinen who went undrafted last draft even though he was great in Mestis last season.
I'll quote the Gump Worsley, "You gotta stop it, it doesn't matter how tall you are, how short you are, how you stop it, just stop it, if you can stop the puck you are a goaltender." The Gumper was 5'7, maybe 5'8, was an elite goaltender, did it all without a mask, won 4 Cups, and was one of the best of the 1960s. He played with none of the padding against Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Frank Mahovlich, all guys who could shoot the puck at 100 MPH without difficulty. Height can help in some ways, you cover more net, but that doesn't guarantee greatness, Gary Smith at 6'4 was a good goalie on some terrible teams, but he didn't the elite talent of his peers like Gump Worsley, Bernie Parent 5'10, Tony Esposito 5'11, Gerry Cheevers 5'11, Eddie Giacomin 5'11, Rogie Vachon 5'8. The tall goalie isn't always the best, and considering the greatest goalies in my book, are Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, and Turk Broda, 2 out of 3 meet your ideal range, Sawchuk and Hall both at 5'11, however, Turk Broda at 5'9 was the best playoff goalie of them all, a GAA of 1.97 over his career and 5 Stanley Cups to show for it. The key is to stop the puck, figure out your style, get your reflexes right.
Vasilevskiy is still the most skilled goalie in the world in terms of movement and he's 6'4, it's not that you have to be a certain height to be good at any skill, it's that you have to be obsessed with working on your craft to get your skills to a certain level. Biology/height just plays a part in how easy it is to develop these different skills.
i played hockey all through elementary, middle and high school and i always played wing a 50/50 of both left and right wing and i wouldn't have wanted it any other way
I'm not very good just large. I tell people this all the time. I cover a lot of net at 6'2" but my size limits my mobility (talking girth not height) and I am 53 years old, hips and knees don't work like they used to and I'm fluent in a completely different style of goaltending. That being said I got into hockey late and never trained like these guys do. When you have the size and mobility, like an Andrei Vasilevskiy, the goal posts appear to be closer and the bar seems to be lower. I don't want to be a negative Nancy here but competition is tough and every advantage a person has the better. 2 goalies with the exact same talent level, one is 5'11" one is 6'4" the taller goalie is going to get the harder look (call it physics). The only thing a shorter goal can do is put in the extra effort, first on the ice, last off. Make it so you are the more practiced goalie. 5'9" at 14 is what I was (my grandma had it on her door frame), so depending on genetics you might be the 6'2" (even possibly bigger, look at your parents) goalie but that shouldn't deter you from being the first on last off.
4:51 Me? I am about to spend $1500 on 8 EEE skates. I have a RUclips short of me getting fitted a few days ago. Thats my fricking pain in my ass nothing fits me. I am 6'4" 245lbs: I just ordered custom G7 36+1 pads...
![I.N "HALLUCINATION" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/n5B5q1Hwt_U/mqdefault.jpg)
I was a goalie from a poor family, so most of my equipment was donated. I played with regular skates for four years. I never owned a pair of goalie skates. I was told I was a really good goalie, but when I went to a new province with a single Mom who couldn't afford new equipment, I was playing with donated stuff. I was relentlessly teased by the kids who came from wealthy families and I ended up quitting. Who knows how far I could have gone, but it can be a mean spirited game from the get go
Personally I would say the ideal goalie height is 6'1-6'3. I think that is a height u don't lose that much of your speed but still have enough size to cover more easily. I feel 5'11 is already a lot on the smaller side and has to compensate for size. U need to have elite pucktracking and movement to make it at that height. On your point about pucktracking being better when smaller, I think that is the case too but bigger goalies can also practise upon that but smaller goalies can't improve as much in covering the net. When you are smaller u need to have more skill, just like with skaters. Smaller goalies go often overlooked like we have seen with Petteri Rimpinen who went undrafted last draft even though he was great in Mestis last season.
let's just call it 6'1 then
I'll quote the Gump Worsley, "You gotta stop it, it doesn't matter how tall you are, how short you are, how you stop it, just stop it, if you can stop the puck you are a goaltender."
The Gumper was 5'7, maybe 5'8, was an elite goaltender, did it all without a mask, won 4 Cups, and was one of the best of the 1960s. He played with none of the padding against Bobby Hull, Gordie Howe, Frank Mahovlich, all guys who could shoot the puck at 100 MPH without difficulty. Height can help in some ways, you cover more net, but that doesn't guarantee greatness, Gary Smith at 6'4 was a good goalie on some terrible teams, but he didn't the elite talent of his peers like Gump Worsley, Bernie Parent 5'10, Tony Esposito 5'11, Gerry Cheevers 5'11, Eddie Giacomin 5'11, Rogie Vachon 5'8.
The tall goalie isn't always the best, and considering the greatest goalies in my book, are Terry Sawchuk, Glenn Hall, and Turk Broda, 2 out of 3 meet your ideal range, Sawchuk and Hall both at 5'11, however, Turk Broda at 5'9 was the best playoff goalie of them all, a GAA of 1.97 over his career and 5 Stanley Cups to show for it.
The key is to stop the puck, figure out your style, get your reflexes right.
Oh I thought this was like soccer goalies.
Vasilevskiy is still the most skilled goalie in the world in terms of movement and he's 6'4, it's not that you have to be a certain height to be good at any skill, it's that you have to be obsessed with working on your craft to get your skills to a certain level. Biology/height just plays a part in how easy it is to develop these different skills.
i played hockey all through elementary, middle and high school and i always played wing a 50/50 of both left and right wing and i wouldn't have wanted it any other way
great and funny vid
I'm not very good just large. I tell people this all the time. I cover a lot of net at 6'2" but my size limits my mobility (talking girth not height) and I am 53 years old, hips and knees don't work like they used to and I'm fluent in a completely different style of goaltending. That being said I got into hockey late and never trained like these guys do. When you have the size and mobility, like an Andrei Vasilevskiy, the goal posts appear to be closer and the bar seems to be lower. I don't want to be a negative Nancy here but competition is tough and every advantage a person has the better. 2 goalies with the exact same talent level, one is 5'11" one is 6'4" the taller goalie is going to get the harder look (call it physics). The only thing a shorter goal can do is put in the extra effort, first on the ice, last off. Make it so you are the more practiced goalie. 5'9" at 14 is what I was (my grandma had it on her door frame), so depending on genetics you might be the 6'2" (even possibly bigger, look at your parents) goalie but that shouldn't deter you from being the first on last off.
4:51 Me? I am about to spend $1500 on 8 EEE skates.
I have a RUclips short of me getting fitted a few days ago.
Thats my fricking pain in my ass nothing fits me.
I am 6'4" 245lbs: I just ordered custom G7 36+1 pads...
Start incorporating monkey bar workouts if you want to be longer and broader.
im 5 at 14 rip
Taller is always better.