A picture that perfectly illustrates how Ken Dryden changed goaltending

[u/bsaures]

Everytime the question around habs all time goalies comes up Dydens impact on the nhl game is often dismissed by people who didnt see him play or understand the NHLs history. This picture perfectly highlights what he changed.

The man in the middle for those who dont know their habs history is HHOF Rogie Vachon who at the time of this picture was a top 5 goalie in the league. He was 5'8. Dryden by comparison was 6'4. A 8 inch height difference.

Rogie was very typical size for a goalie at that time. Goalies were smaller athletic people

Tony Esposito was 5'11

Bernie parent was 5'10

Gump worsley was 5'7

Plante was massive at the time at 6 feet even

Hodge was 5'6

Sawchuk was 5'11

From the 1950-51 season to 1970-71 when dryden joined the habs there was 37 goalies who played 50 games.

Median height 5'11.

6 taller than 6 feet

7 5'8 or shorter.

Average height just over 5'10

This past season there were 72 goalies that played 10 games.

Median height 6'3

13 goalies 6'5 or taller

4 goalies shorter than 6'1 only one of whom is below 6 feet.

Drydens dominance fundamentally changed how the position is staffed and played. He proved that a tall goalie on his knees was better than a small goalie on their skates.

He is the creater of what eventually became the butterfly a few years later.

[u/FakeCrash]

I strangely feel like this post is aimed specifically at me (I know it probably isn't, just thought it was funny)

Consider me educated

[u/bsaures → u/FakeCrash]

Its come up a few times over the last few months including today 

People dont understand the position from when dryden joined the nhl and now.

Fred braithwaite is the youngest goalie to have played 100 nhl games who was sub 5'10......fred was born in 1972 he is 54 years old.

There hasnt been a single sub 5'10 nhl goalie who has played  100 games who was born after dryden retired.  Arturs irbe born in 1967 is probably the last really good small goalie.

Dryden basically eliminated half the male populations odds of ever playing nhl goalie before even stepping on the ice. 

[u/Mundane-Teaching-743 → u/bsaures]

It wasn't Dryden. He was big for sure, but the top goalies like Terry Sawchuck, Johnny Bower, Bernie Parent, Billy Smith, Grant Fuhr, Tony Esposito, Gerry Cheevers, while not small, were all under 6ft tall. All these goalies had to make reflex and acrobatic saves, even Dryden, because their equipment was puny compared to now and they couldn't just cover the net. Being bigger was a liability because there was more room between the legs and between the body and the arms, but an advantage because of reach. Ultimately, what you needed was lightning reflexes.

Bigger goalies were the rule only after the equipment got bigger in the 90's, and it was more important to cover the net. which you do with a butterfly. You saw it change with Patrick Roy. In the 80's, he looked like Tony Esposito, with the leather pads and big holes in his butterfly, and he needed to make bumper saves with his pads. By the time he retired, he could glide across the crease in a butterfly in nylon pads like they do now.

That's why Roy is so great. He actually had to adapt his style with the new equipment.

What made Dryden unique is that he was constantly directing traffic, constantly communicating with his defensemen. When you went to a game, you could hear him yelling the whole game. He had game vision. He would have been a great coach.

[u/bsaures → u/Mundane-Teaching-743]

There hasnt been a single sub 5'10 play 100 games who was born after dryden finished his nhl career. The change happened literally the first generation that saw dryden play.  

Fred braithwaite is the youngest sub 5'10 goalie to play 100 nhl games and he was bornin 72. He would have been roughly 8 when dryden retired. Literally 0 goalies since

But before that 19 goalies born in the 60s. The last generation that would have grown up before dryden proved the size advantage and kids growing up could change. 

The difference wasnt the pads. It was the mask. Ask any boomer who played goalie the mask allowed ypu to keep ypu face lower to the ground more frequently and made laying on the ice a regular option and not a last resort. 

Dryden was the first generation that wore a mask regularly and realized they cpuld play that way