Shorter goalies find niche in what has become big man's position

So much for talk about the end of shorter goalies in the NHL.
Judging by the height of goaltenders being drafted into the League, and currently making headlines, it might be tempting to think a goalie measuring 6-foot or under were becoming extinct.

Twenty-six of the 213 goalies (12.2 percent) selected in the past 10 NHL drafts have been 6-foot or shorter, and the number drops to five of the 84 goalies (5.9 percent) selected during the past four NHL drafts, including one goalie in each of the past two.
On the ice, the numbers have changed in favor of taller goalies as well.
Ten years ago, 30 percent (27 of 89) of goalies to appear in at least one NHL game were 6-foot or shorter. Five years ago, it was 12 percent (18 of 82). This season, it's 8 percent (seven of 88).
The top 12 goalies in the League in starts this season are all at least 6-foot-1, averaging 6-3, 209 pounds.
Nashville Predators goalie Pekka Rinne, among the favorites for the
Vezina Trophy
as the League's best goalie, is 6-5, 217. Tampa Bay Lightning starter Andrei Vasilevskiy, who leads the League with wins (42), is 6-3, 207.
Several undersized goalies are having success.
It's a list highlighted by Antti Raanta (6-0, 195) of the Arizona Coyotes. His .926 save percentage is tied for seventh among NHL goalies with at least 22 appearances. Predators backup Jusse Saros (5-11, 180) has a .925 save percentage in 20 games. Aaron Dell (6-0, 200) of the San Jose Sharks is 15-5-3 with a .913 save percentage this season and has a .921 save percentage in 47 NHL games.

The .917 save percentage of Anton Khudobin (5-11, 195), the backup for the Boston Bruins, is slightly better than the .916 of Tuukka Rask, the starter. Minnesota Wild backup Alex Stalock (6-0, 191) is 10-10-2 with a .912 save percentage. Jonathan Bernier (6-0, 184) has a .914 save percentage and won nine games during a 10-game winning streak for the Colorado Avalanche from Dec. 29 to Jan. 23, a run that put the Avalanche back in the playoff picture while starter Semyon Varlamov was injured.
The play of undersized peers hasn't gone unnoticed by Bernier.
"It is nice to see smaller goalies having success because it just seems like that has been the mark, if you are not 6-foot-3 and above you are not getting drafted, and teams have passed on really good goalies that maybe were shorter but I think had more talent," said Bernier, a first-round pick (No. 11) by the Los Angeles Kings in the 2006 NHL Draft. "I always believed that it really didn't matter about size, it's how you play."
The reasoning behind the trend toward taller goalies is sound: if you can find a goalie who moves as well as a shorter peer, pick the one who fills more of the net, which is 4 feet high by 6 feet wide.
Shorter goalies, however, believe the evolving NHL game might be better suited to their skills.
The game has never been faster or more dynamic, especially laterally. A weakness for many taller goalies is their lateral movement, which tends to open bigger holes along the ice and under their arms.
"If you look at a guy that is 6-foot-6 moving side to side, for him to have his pads tight together is going to take longer," Bernier said. "It's not tackling physics or anything, you can just see it right away, so I think there is a medium size that is probably the best, but I still believe if you have the vision and you have the legs, it doesn't matter if you're 6-foot or 6-foot-6."

The recent reduction in the size of goaltending equipment may have benefitted shorter goalies.
"The smaller goalies are a little bit faster, for the most part, and we've had to do more our whole lives, the whole way up for the most part," Dell said. "So I think now that they've made the gear smaller, I think the bigger guys have bigger holes. That equalizes it a little bit. I think the smaller guys get a little faster and it just opens up those gaps on the bigger guys."
Patience on the skates, whether waiting out a shooter or not committing too soon to a pass, has also become increasingly important.
"Patience and good hands have always been more important for us smaller guys," Dell said. "You've really got to hold the feet because if you drop too early there is a lot of room up top."
Shorter goalies might need to take away more ice to make up for the lack of net coverage afforded by their frame, and some, like Stalock and Khudobin, certainly play a more active style.
Other shorter goalies are far from hyper-aggressive. Saros rarely plays with the heels of his skates past the edge of the crease.
"I've always been a smaller guy, so you just have to be really precise on everything you do because you can't afford to be sloppy," Saros said. "I try to do everything really specific."
The differences are obvious to the taller goalies.
"What I can see is usually when you look at a smaller goalie, their technique is off the charts," said Vancouver Canucks goalie Anders Nilsson, who is 6-6, 217. "Their footwork is unbelievable, they move really well, so their technique in the crease is probably the best in this league."