ESPN News ServicesMultiple AuthorsOct 22, 2026, 08:26 PM ETOpen Extended ReactionsPITTSBURGH — Florida Panthers goalie Cooper Black skated onto the PPG Paints Arena ice alone during pregame warmups Thursday night, a time-honored hockey tradition given to rookies everywhere.It took Black fewer strides to make the memorable lap than most.Call it one of the upsides of being 6-foot-9.Black made NHL history in his first career start when he became the tallest goaltender to appear in a regular-season game. Black is listed 2 inches taller than Ben Bishop, Ivan Fedotov, Mads Sogaard and Mikko Koskinen, each 6-foot-7.Black, a 25-year-old from Alpena, Michigan, who started playing when he was 8 and had a 5-inch growth spurt between his junior and senior years in high school when he shot up to 6-5 and kept on growing, was excellent in his first period.Black, called up from Florida’s AHL affiliate in Charlotte recently after Jacob Markstrom went down because of a shoulder injury, stopped Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang with his blocker pad on a wrist shot about two minutes in. Black also turned aside a breakaway opportunity by Penguins forward Rickard Rakell before giving up a goal to Nick Robertson, who beat Black to the glove side.The 5-9 Robertson became the first player to score a goal on a goaltender who was a foot taller than him since 5-6 Rocco Grimaldi tallied three on Bishop in the 2019 playoffs.Black ended up making 17 saves as the Penguins went on to win 4-0.”It’s cool, right, growing up, all the guys you kind of saw and watched as a kid, even as a goalie,” Black said. “Cool experience to play against the guys, would have been nicer to win.”Panthers coach Paul Maurice praised Black’s development in recent years.<\/p>\n
Florida signed Black as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2024. Black blossomed last season in Charlotte, posting a 25-13-4 record with a 2.47 goals-against average and a .903 save percentage.”A man that size, it takes a long time to grow into that body,” Maurice said before adding with a laugh, “I think he’s done.”Information from ESPN Research and The Associated Press was used in this report.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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