Who Is the Shortest NHL Player? Roy Worters, at 5 ft 3 in

The smallest player in the history of the NHL was Roy Worters, a goalkeeper who measured only 5 ft 3 inches and weighed 135 pounds. His height record has been succeeded by Nathan Gerbe, who is 5 ft 4 inches tall. The next two positions on the list belong to Darren Pang, who is 5 ft 5 inches tall, and Rocco Grimaldi and Theoren Fleury, 5 ft 6 inches tall. In terms of modern players, the situation is more complicated than most websites will tell you. This is why. And here is the complete top five and the current ranking.

Shortest NHL Players at a Glance:

The all-time list and the current situation, with contested figures flagged.

Shortest NHL player ever	Roy Worters, goaltender, 5 ft 3 in (160 cm)
Shortest skater ever	Nathan Gerbe, 5 ft 4 in (163 cm)
Third	Darren Pang, goaltender, listed at 5 ft 5 in
Joint fourth	Rocco Grimaldi, listed at 5 ft 6 in
Joint fourth	Theoren Fleury, listed at 5 ft 6 in
Worters’ weight	135 lb (61 kg)
Worters’ nickname	Shrimp
Worters’ career	1925 to 1937, with the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens
Worters’ honours	Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, and Hockey Hall of Fame induction in 1969
Height difference	Worters was 18 inches shorter than Zdeno Chara, the tallest player in NHL history at 6 ft 9 in
Gerbe’s career	Around 400 NHL games and 138 points, with Buffalo, Carolina and Columbus
Fleury’s career	1,088 career points, a Stanley Cup in 1989 and Olympic gold in 2002
Shortest active players	Contested. Names most often cited for 2026 include Trey Fix-Wolansky, Rocco Grimaldi, Cole Caufield and Alex DeBrincat, listed between 5 ft 6 in and 5 ft 8 in
Why that is unclear	Listed heights come from clubs rather than a single verified measurement, and differ between sources
Average NHL height	Around 6 ft 1 in
Shortest goalies today	Juuse Saros and Hunter Shepard, both listed at 5 ft 11 in

The Top Five Shortest NHL Players of All Time:

1. Roy Worters, 5 ft 3 in, goaltender

Also known as Shrimp throughout his entire career, Worters played for 13 seasons from 1925 to 1937 in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Americans and Montreal Canadiens teams. He stood 5’3″ tall and weighed 135 pounds.

But this player was not just a curious case. He received the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the league; this award is very seldomly won by goalies. Later he also received the Vezina Trophy as the best goaltender in the league. Also he made 66 shutouts, was the first goaltender to make back-to-back shutouts, and even signed a contract which was worth 8,500 dollars per season for a goalie, which was unprecedented.

The Hockey Hall of Fame honored him in 1969. However, Worters had died from throat cancer several years before that – in 1957. As for proportions, Worters was 18 inches shorter than Zdeno Chara, the tallest player in the history of NHL. It is one foot and a half difference between the smallest and the tallest players in the NHL during its 108 year-long history.

2. Nathan Gerbe, 5 ft 4 in

Gerbe is the smallest player ever in the National Hockey League (NHL) and in modern times in general. Gerbe played almost 400 games in the NHL for Buffalo, Carolina and Columbus and had 138 points. The main reason that allowed him to have a career was not the size but the style. He played in such a way that his opponents had to respect him and he was fast enough to avoid being punished in a way that kills a career of most small players.

3. Darren Pang, 5 ft 5 in, goaltender

Pang served as a goalie for the Chicago Blackhawks during the latter part of the 1980s, standing only 5’5″ tall according to records, thereby becoming the second-smallest goalie in the history of the league after Worters. He is now much more famous as a broadcaster than as a goalie.

4. Rocco Grimaldi, 5 ft 6 in

Grimaldi has built a long professional career at a listed 5 ft 6 in, playing for several NHL clubs including Florida, Colorado and Nashville, with extended spells in the AHL between call-ups. He remains one of the names most often cited when the question turns to today’s players.

5. Theoren Fleury, 5 ft 6 in

Fleury is the most decorated hockey player on this list. Standing at 5 ft 6 in, he scored 1,088 goals in his 15-year NHL career, won the Stanley Cup with Calgary as a rookie in 1989, and captured Olympic gold for Canada in 2002.

Fleury is the best evidence that height does not correlate to being able to play hockey. He would never be chosen based on height criteria alone, but he outdid the majority of players that were.

Who Is the Shortest Active NHL Player:

That’s how the typical article would state the name without any uncertainty, while the correct response would be much more nuanced. Various websites publishing their lists in a matter of months around 2026 give Fix-Wolansky 5 ft 6 in, Grimaldi, Matthew Phillips 5 ft 7 in, and Caufield and DeBrincat 5 ft 8 in. A few sources list Caufield as 5 ft 7 in.

There are two factors contributing to the discrepancy. One is the constant shifting of rosters. For the players being considered, they are in the borderline between the NHL and the AHL, making who of them is a current NHL player different from week to week.

However, the second factor is far more interesting – NHL heights are not verified independently. They come from the club and are not always in agreement with either a player’s combine height or the height of other outlets. Usually, it is an inch off, and whenever a source states that the shortest player in the league is 5 ft 6 in tall, they are quoting the club roster.

The most accurate claim for 2026 is the league’s shortest players are in the 5 ft 6 in to 5 ft 8 in range, and the four names most often cited are Fix-Wolansky, Grimaldi, Caufield and DeBrincat. Anyone stating otherwise should also mention which roster and which date they used.

How Short Is Short in the NHL:

The typical NHL player has a height of about 6 feet and 1 inch, and thus a forward who stands at 5 feet and 6 inches has to play seven inches shorter than the average. It should be noted that the tallest players will be facing him from the opposing team.

Height has become more important than ever before for a goaltender since a tall goalkeeper has more area covered. This is why Worters was such an outlier being only 5 feet and 3 inches tall and why there is no goalie like that in today’s league. The smallest active goaltenders in the league, Juuse Saros from Nashville and Hunter Shepard from Montreal, are both measured at 5 feet and 11 inches tall, which is eight inches taller than Worters.

The trend has gone in reverse for skaters. Rule changes, reduced obstruction, and a faster game have made smaller forwards viable in modern hockey compared to the 1990s era. Caufield and DeBrincat are both goal-scorers in excess of 30 goals per season, something that would not have been possible then.

Final Take:

Roy Worters standing at 5’3″ remains the shortest NHL player ever in almost a century of his career while Nathan Gerbe is the shortest skater with a height of 5’4″. There doesn’t seem to be any chance that either record will get broken any time soon, especially when it comes to goaltending. However, in the case of today’s league, any one individual should be taken with a pinch of salt. It is because the measurements provided are those from the teams and vary by an inch from source to source.

Frequently Asked Questions:

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