Is Ivan Fedotov simply too big for the NHL (BBD Discussion)

[Jumptheshark]

People look at the guy and go " oh is big and that means he should be good"

Agility is key to being a goalie

 

[S E P H]

I would say that his biggest downfall is that he simply cannot track the puck well enough, so he's moving around all over the place. He's very tall, but does not cover a lot of the net.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Like other positions in hockey, there is a cap to how tall a player can realistically be while still being effective. Chara pushed the limits because he was a phenomenal athlete in addition to being tall. But Chara was a defenseman where being enormous allows for physical domination; in net, there’s no particular reason to tower over the goal cage. A little extra length on the arms and legs theoretically helps cover more net, but that’s not really a glaring problem that needs to be solved for a typical NHL-sized goalie, and the extra length comes at a price.

As we see routinely in the NBA, once you get to a certain height the players usually sacrifice the quality of their footwork due to having longer limbs and a higher center of gravity (unless they are a Wilt level athletic freak). In goalie terms, the higher center of gravity impacts their ability to move around the net and make snap reactions. Kind of like how playing with a very long hockey stick allows you to cover more space, but at the cost of making quick efficient movements and maintaining fine tuned control.

I actually do think there might have been a time about 15-20 years ago when it could have worked out well for him, because he could have gotten away with being more of a net-blocker with cartoonishly huge equipment. But rule changes have forced a degree of athleticism back into goaltending, and that puts super-tall players at a disadvantage.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

He was so bad in the game against Washington.

 

[Fist of Fury]

Russian version of legendary Mikko Koskinen.