# Hockey Goals and Really Fat People **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 13, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882 "2004-05-13T00:23:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/1 "2004-05-13T00:23:30Z")
How big are hockey goals? Are there people who fat enough to totally block a hockey goal? Would it be legal under NHL rules for a really fat person who could block the goal just lay in front of the goal? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/2 "2004-05-13T00:28:44Z")
A hockey goal is six feet by four feet. If you know of a human who has a surface area of 24 square feet, sign him up. Even if you put modern day pads on him, you still can’t fill up all that space. When you stand in front of a goal as the goalie, it seems a lot bigger. ---
**Author:** ![Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/aeb1de/32.png) [@Kel\_Varnsen\_Latex\_Division](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kel_Varnsen_Latex_Division)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/3 "2004-05-13T00:30:33Z")
How about if they were conjoined twins? ---
**Author:** ![KGS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/90ced4/32.png) [@KGS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KGS)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/4 "2004-05-13T00:32:26Z")
[Walter Hudson](http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/dimtext/hudson.html) probably could have blocked the entire goal. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/5 "2004-05-13T02:01:04Z")
> [@KGS](#): > > [Walter Hudson](http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/dimtext/hudson.html) probably could have blocked the entire goal. Not even close, he’d have to be four feet across while lying down. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/6 "2004-05-13T02:16:30Z")
At the Hockey Hall of Fame, they have (or maybe had) a “virtual” goalie exhibit where they gave you a stick and a blocker and a catching glove and you tried to stop “pucks” that were shot at you on a video monitor. Foolishly, I set it at “pro” level after I saw a kid stop a bunch at “amateur”. The “pucks” kept coming at me from opposite sides of the goal very quickly and it was really hard to get from side to side in time. I think stopped 10 of the 20 shots. I am just amazed at how good NHL goalies are. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/7 "2004-05-13T02:19:44Z")
I was at his funeral. Walter Hudson’s casket was bigger than a hockey net. (It was also _towed_ by the hearse. D’jeva think you’d see a hearse with a trailer hitch?) ---
**Author:** ![Dignan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@Dignan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dignan)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/8 "2004-05-13T03:23:27Z")
This sure is a common way of thinking. I used to play hockey, and several of my non-hockey playing friends would often run this idea by me. The goalie is the most important player on the ice. If a team doesn’t have a decent backstop, then they’re going to have trouble winning games. Goalies have to be flexible and quick, which aren’t qualities that are generally found in someone that might take up a significant amount of the net. There are no rules on how large a player can be (I believe the largest player currently in the league is Zdeno Chara, at 6’9", 260 lbs.), but I imagine any unathletic person, especially a large one, will have trouble on skates. As BobT said, playing goalie requires a tremendous amount of athletic ability, so it isn’t like some team could roll Jabba out and not have to worry about the opponent scoring. Here is a similar thread: [Can a “sumo” wrestler be a hockey goalie?](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=159263&highlight=hockey+goal%2A) ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/9 "2004-05-13T04:00:13Z")
A long time ago I watched Gordie Howe give a shooting demonstration before a hockey game on TV. I don’t care how big you are, he would have gotten some past you. ---
**Author:** ![Gamaliel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b487fb/32.png) [@Gamaliel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gamaliel)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 7:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/10 "2004-05-13T07:05:56Z")
In the immortal words of [Atom and His Package](http://www.atomandhispackage.com): > [@](#): > > What do you do with your 1500 pounds? > You play goalie! > > You can try the wristshot, slapshot, there’s no getting through. > I told you ten times, you cannot fake out blubber, dude. ---
**Author:** ![Shade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2bfe46/32.png) [@Shade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shade)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/11 "2004-05-13T10:18:37Z")
> [@BobT](#): > > A hockey goal is six feet by four feet. > > If you know of a human who has a surface area of 24 square feet, sign him up. > > Even if you put modern day pads on him, you still can’t fill up all that space. > > When you stand in front of a goal as the goalie, it seems a lot bigger. Nitpick: his surface area would need to be at least 48sq ft, no? ---
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/12 "2004-05-13T10:30:02Z")
[Roselie Bradford](http://www.dimensionsmagazine.com/dimtext/kjn/people/heaviest.htm) was supposedly eight feet wide at her peak. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/13 "2004-05-13T11:57:30Z")
Pfft. Ice Hockey goals… I’d like you to find someone who can fully cover a Field Hockey goal! But even if they could cover the whole goal, goal keepers do more than stop goals. I assume there’s a rule in ice hockey that speculates you must be on skates to stop the puck, or touch it, etc.? How exactly is someone who’s fairly immobile and inflexible going to do this? And even if they were big enough, how would the cover the distance between their ankles and the ground, ie. where their skates are? Anyway, the opposing team could just lure them away from the goal with candy. ---
**Author:** ![Frank\_2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Frank\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank_2)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/14 "2004-05-13T13:49:11Z")
> [@Who Stole My Name?](#): > > I assume there’s a rule in ice hockey that speculates you must be on skates to stop the puck, or touch it, etc.? How exactly is someone who’s fairly immobile and inflexible going to do this? And even if they were big enough, how would the cover the distance between their ankles and the ground, ie. where their skates are? Goalies routinely make saves lying on thier sides, back, stomach, head, etc. There isn’t any rule stating how a goalie must be positioned to stop the puck. As for the 5-hole (space between the ankles) the goalie has a wide stick to block that area. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2004, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/15 "2004-05-13T17:18:00Z")
> [@Shade](#): > > Nitpick: his surface area would need to be at least 48sq ft, no? I’m envisioning a goalie would be a really heavy version of Flat Stanley. ---
**Author:** ![Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/eada6e/32.png) [@Go\_You\_Big\_Red\_Fire\_Engine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Go_You_Big_Red_Fire_Engine)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/16 "2004-05-16T10:29:01Z")
> [@Frank #2](#): > > Goalies routinely make saves lying on thier sides, back, stomach, head, etc. There isn’t any rule stating how a goalie must be positioned to stop the puck. As for the 5-hole (space between the ankles) the goalie has a wide stick to block that area. I see. Then why do they need to really wear skates then? 😕 But is there any rule stating that the goal keeper must have all body parts in front of the goal line? That could be kinda hard. ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2004, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hockey-goals-and-really-fat-people/244882/17 "2004-05-16T17:29:44Z")
The only limitation on the goalie’s position is that he can’t cross the blue line I believe (or it the red line?) If the goalie wants to curl up in the fetal position inside the goal, that’s his business. However, you stop a lot more pucks if you stand in front of the goal line to give the shooter less area to shoot at.