Help me out, because there must be a reason I just don't understand. I play ice hockey two seasons per year and now we've formed a new team, so I'll be playing on two teams each season. Fun! Ever since I started playing ice hockey, I have heard of goalies trying to play for free. That is, they want the league or the team to pick up their league fee. Ice hockey, at least in Colorado, isn't cheap. Something around $475 per player per season.
As it was explained to me, the reason is that goalie gear is very expensive, at least compared to regular hockey gear. It varies with the level of gear purchased of course. I can buy a skates for $150 or $550 and a goalie can buy pads for $700 to $1700. So there is a range (of course, better gear doesn't make the player any better). Typically, to fully outfit a regular player in ice hockey gear with decent, respectable equipment might run around $850 the first time. Of course, most of that stuff ought to last for years. Some guys look like vintage clothing ads their gear is so old. Outfitting a goalie is more expensive. I estimate somewhere around $2,000-3,00. Most goalies acquire their gear slowly, borrowing some or buying used to start and replacing over time. But let's just say it's $2,400.
That is expensive, no arguments about that. If you are forming a new team, with a new goalie who has to fork out 3x as much, a subsidy certainly seems reasonable. But I'm talking about goalies who have been around for years just like the players. There is no new outlay. In fact, when you stop to think about it, I only get 33%-50% of the "ice time" a goalie gets. As a regular player, you take "shifts" or as we call it "stumbling to the bench to catch your breadth" while your buddy takes over for 2 minutes. Depending on how many players, I'm only on the ice half the game time at most, while the goalie is out there playing for the full 60 minutes.
So, someone please explain why established goalies should play for free or be subsidized? The best I can come up with is that a goalie outlays 3x more for gear, but plays 2-3x more on the ice. On a gear cost per minute of play basis, the goalie spends $40, where I spend $26-40, so the subsidy (if any) ought to be about 33%, not 100%. Karl, hockey fans, please enlighten me before I get annoyed at my goalie and cause problems.
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In my league it is simple supply and demand. There just aren't enough Goalies to go around, so they need to be 'encouraged' to come out.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were a hockey player, Brett! Another thing we have in common.
I play, but I make no claims on how well.
ReplyDeleteS&D huh? If that's the case, I'm going to start offering to play for crappy teams in lower levels if they'll pick up my fees.
Goalies are generally regarded, in Canada, as your bestest possible friend ever. Probably because of the expense. Maybe hoggy is new enough there that it hasn't developed a certain deferential attitude paid to a guy willing to pony up to be a goalee (you never have to throw in for the beer/pizza).
ReplyDeleteA friend is a goalie and he claims it's the best position to play for those who don't like team sports but understand the need to be part of a team sport.
Oh wait I read that wrong I think. You're saying the goalie spends more but gets more ice time? As far as I understand hoggy (from the french canadian POV), the object is to get the puck between the mask and the chest pad. Getting it into the goal is a secondary consideration. So since the goalie puts his life on the line, then I think that balances out.
ReplyDeleteOf course, the goalie gets to keep a water bottle on his net and I think that's big compensation.
Looks like the essentials have all been said, but I thought I'd chime in, seeing as for a change the subject is something I actually have some experience in, allowing me to raise above lurker status on this blog.
ReplyDeleteI spent several years playing in a very popular free drop-in game in Vancouver. There were regularly more people than could practically be used as skaters and less than we needed to be goalies.
This often meant that if you wanted ice time you had to cobble together enough equipment that you were willing to risk the hygiene of from other people, and have the balls to stand in net and let people hit a frozen disc of rubber at you at close to a hundred miles an hour.
The best goalie amongst us, Jaimie, HATED playing goal, because despite his skill he was not bat-s**t crazy.
I played goal often due to a certain fearlessness that other players hated when I skated, but appreciated when I was in goal... 'cause then they could 'balance the books' with me with impunity. I just wanted to be in the game, and would take the ice time any way I could get it... even though I was notoriously bad at stopping pucks.
So yes - you need to be out of your skull to play goal. As a result, it becomes a supply and demand issue. And if you had a choice between losing every game with me in goal, or paying for Jaimie's beer after the game to convince him to step into the paint and give your team a chance to actually win; then you bought Jaimie's beer.