In the final round of the 2026 NHL Draft, the Florida Panthers selected 6-foot-8 netminder Louis-Antoine Denault from the QMJHL. This year marked the seventh consecutive draft in which the organization selected a goalie, dating back to their first-round pick in 2019, Spencer Knight.
In the years that have followed, they drafted Devon Levi (2020), Kirill Gerasimyuk (2021), Tyler Muszelik (2022), Olof Glifford (2023), Denis Gabdrakhmanov (2024), and Yegor Midiak.
Right now, only Gerasimyuk and Muszelik are under contract, while the Panthers still retain signing rights to Glifford, Gabdrakhmanov, Midiak, and now Denault.
Meanwhile, there is only one netminder under contract in the Florida organization who didn’t come through the draft: 6-foot-8 Cooper Black, who is one of their top goalies for their AHL affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers.
Outside of the 2021 Draft, where they selected Gerasimyuk, who stands at 6-foot-2, every netminder since then has been listed at 6-foot-3 or taller.
Here’s a breakdown of goalies in the system ranked by their height:
- Denault: 6-foot-8 (2026 Draft)
- Black: 6-foot-8 (Free Agent)
- Midlak: 6-foot-6 (2025 Draft)
- Glifford: 6-foot-4 (2023 Draft)
- Gabdrakhmanov: 6-foot-3 (2024 Draft)
- Muszelik: 6-foot-3 (2022 Draft)
- Gerasimyuk: 6-foot-2 (2021 Draft)
Clearly, the Panthers scouting department, which includes Special Assistant to the General Manager, Roberto Luongo, is seeking a certain type of netminder to join the prospects pool.
At 6-foot-3, the Hockey Hall of Famer carved out an impressive professional hockey career, which included two Olympic gold medals. However, one advantage he had over all the goalie picks in Panthers history was that he was the fourth overall pick in the 1997 Draft.
Now, Panthers fans could say the team found success with Sergei Bobrovsky at 6-foot-2, but it appears that he’s headed for free agency on July 1, and after seven seasons, the team is preparing for a future without him.
Meanwhile, another free agent who could come back on a new deal is Daniil Tarasov. At 27, he went 13-15-3 in 33 games with the Panthers after a 19-34-6 record over four seasons with the Columbus Blue Jackets.
One of the main reasons Florida brought him in is because he’s listed at 6-foot-5, which made him the third tallest to play a game with the club in 2025-26 behind Mikulas Hovorka and Niko Mikkola, both 6-foot-6.
Based on the way Florida has drafted in recent years, clearly, they want a tall netminder between the pipes, hoping their next starter covers the entirety of the net, no matter what style he plays.
For small goalies, the game has passed them by. Long gone are the days when Mike Vernon (5-foot-9) and Mike Richter (5-foot-11) were winning Stanley Cups.
Today, teams want Andrei Vasilevsky or Connor Hellebuyck, both listed at 6-foot-4, to lead their teams. That’s why the Panthers continue to seek out and sign taller netminders, hoping their future success can land upon shoulders that tower over opponents.
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