USA Hockey Magazine

"It's fun to share our knowledge and our stories with younger goalies who may not think they 're big enough or quick enough to have success, just because of their size," Rooney said. "A lot of goalies in this day and age have proven themselves. They might not have the most height, but they can make up for it in other ways." S t e v e T h o m p s o n , t h e A m e r i c a n Development Model manager of goal- tending for USA Hockey, believes the bigger-is-better mentality began in the 1990s, when goalies began wearing big- g er equipment and naturally took up more net. Logically, that train of thought applied to the size of the bodies under- neath all of that large gear. " What makes the position challeng- ing and what makes some goaltenders great is oftentimes between their ears," Thompson said. "It's their ability to read the play, their ability to read the release, their ability to know where the puck is going before it gets there and put them- selves in a position to get hit with it. "Size is not required to be a quick think- er, especially in a smaller goaltender. I think we're doing our potential goaltending pool a disservice by focusing only on those who naturally take up more net. There are a lot of people who aren't 6-foot-4, and if we limit our pool to just those who are, we're going to miss out on a lot of great athletes and smart athletes who can get the job done just as effectively." Dustin Wolf, a 6-foot-0, 170-pound goaltender from Gilroy, Calif., has won at every level. He starred for the Western H o c k e y L e a g u e 's E v e r e t t S i l v e r t i p s, helped USA Hockey win a World Junior Championship in 2021 and is in his first full season with the Stockton Heat, the AHL affiliate of the Calgary Flames. "It's the old cliché that, if you can stop pucks, it doesn't matter how big you are," Wolf said. "But there are a lot of teams that are set in their belief that, if you aren't 6-3 or 6-4, you won't even get a look, which is pretty unfortunate. "On a daily basis, I don't think about my size at all. You just go out there, you're excited to do your job and stop pucks and give your team a chance to win every night. It's the outside sources that bring up the idea that you have to be big to play, and it's very prevalent in the hockey world. If you're a smaller goaltender, you might not get as much leeway as the guy who's 6-3 or 6-4." And you do have a little more ground to make up. Rooney didn't reach her current height until high school and competed against Minnesota boys' teams, so she had to inte- grate an aggressive mindset into her game at an early age. She developed stronger edge work and quicker feet to put herself in position to stop shots. "I'm always at the top of the crease, trying to take away as much space as I can so they don't have as much net to shoot at," Rooney said. "But, also a big focus of my game growing up, due to not having that height, was my lateral quickness and overall agility in making up for that lost space I might not have." Casey DeSmith, a 6-foot-0, 181-pound native of Rochester, N.H., in his fourth season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, doesn't discriminate when it comes to watching other goaltenders around the NHL. He can benefit from studying col- leagues of various sizes. 36 // JUNE 2022 T he Goalie Issue USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM PHOTOS BY Getty Images G O A L I E S I Z E "Size is just one tool in the tool box. At the end of the day, it's all about winning games, and it shouldn't matter how big you are." – JEFF LERG JEFF LERG

• Cover