Athleticism goes a long way for shorter goalies like the Flames' Dustin Wolf and Sabres' Devon Levi, but is it enough against the NHL's top shooters?
Dustin Wolf looks to be staying in the NHL for the rest of this year with the Calgary Flames after an injury to backup Dan Vladar. Some see the two-time AHL goalie of the year and 2022-23 AHL MVP as the starter for years to come in Calgary.
And in Buffalo, Devon Levi entered the season as a candidate for the Sabres' starting position in net. While he's spent time between the Sabres and AHL Rochester Americans this year, the 2022-23 NCAA goalie of the year still has years ahead of becoming a starting NHL goalie.
But both 22-year-olds share something in common that could hold them back: they're six-foot.
They certainly aren't the only netminders in the NHL to be six-foot or around that, with Nashville Predators starter Juuse Saros reaching a third straight season of 60-plus games at 5-foot-11.
But with a puck just one inch thick, how much of a difference does it make when a goalie is shorter than 6-foot-2?
Ryan Kennedy and Michael Traikos debated whether height does matter in the long run at the NHL level on the March 23 episode of The Hockey News Pre-Game Show:
In his last four starts since being called up, Wolf has recorded at least a .926 save percentage three times out of four and put up some strong performances after some rough outings in earlier call-ups.
“I’ve kind of been up and down a lot all the year, so there hasn’t been a whole lot of time to adjust to where my feet are at,” Wolf told reporters on March 21.“This is definitely the opportunity I’ve been hoping and waiting for. Now’s the chance to take advantage of it.”
Levi, meanwhile, has a .927 save percentage and 2.52 goals-against average in 19 AHL games and played his first NHL game since January on March 19, stopping 33 of 35 shots faced in a loss to the Vancouver Canucks.