We’ve Created an OnlyGoalies…Just Been Told We Can’t do That so We’re Actually on Patreon
If you haven’t seen it yes Giants in the Crease is now on Patreon. For such a short sentence there’s a lot that goes with it so let’s just lay it all out there in order to answer any questions that people might have. This Patreon is going to be an extension of the work that is done rather than just moving it all behind a paywall. As you’ve seen I’m still writing men’s hockey content for free while the women’s hockey content that is written for The Ice Garden is up to The Ice Garden on what is paid and what is free. That’s not going to change. There are still the stat pages up this website that take directly from the spreadsheet I’m working on so you can find the goalie stats you need. The Tableau page is still also free and available for use whenever you need it. On the YouTube page that’s where we’re going to see some change as I did put up another video for free (2024 NHL Draft prospect Thatcher Bernstein) there will still be free videos that end up on there but going to be more private/Patreon videos on there moving forward.
What’s essentially happening is the Giants in the Crease Vault is being opened. The majority of spreadsheets that I use to keep track of all the league’s goalie stats that are covered here are now available for you to see. Everything I’m currently doing in the sheets behind the current one on this website you can now see not just stats going back a few years or a lot of years but also what kind of work is being done behind the main sheets. If you love stats, having easy access to stats, and want to see previous years of goalie stats you now can. I’m also opening up the vault on goalie evaluations I’ve done (free Scott Ratzlaff Evaluation is available for reading) and will be doing. Currently have this seasons crop of evaluations up and if the masses want it I’ll upload previous goalie evaluations too.
Why is the Patreon being created? People have approached asking to help financially support Giants in the Crease so now they can and get more access than before. All the work that’s been done here at Giants in the Crease from writing to creating videos to keeping up to date on stat tracking for various leagues takes a lot of time and some money. We’re in a recession here in Canada so wouldn’t mind a financial boost especially with a toddler running around our home. Right now the goalie content out in the hockey community is essentially just here, inGoal Magazine, and EliteProspects has Greg Balloch doing pieces for them. Goaltending is easily one the position in hockey with the least amount of content towards it in all ways from stats to articles to evaluations. Obviously it’s not going to happen right away but would love to have Giants in the Crease really help shine the spotlight even more on all who make up the most impactful position in hockey. Goaltending for too long has been brushed aside as voodoo with little effort into understanding the position or the people in the gear, let’s change that.
The Tiers
The Goalie Parent ($5 USD/Month)
This is the tier for those that want to support Giants in the Crease financially for all the work that’s been done and get access to the Stats Vault. When someone signs up to become a “Goalie Parent” you get access to all the stats I’ve collected from the CWHL to the PHF to all three CHL leagues to the AHL and I’ve opened up access to my NHL stats sheet that is a collection of Natural Stat Trick data as well as everything that’s been done with that data On each sheet there is also a glossary of terms page to help you understand what each category is so everyone can understand what they are looking at. You can see the whole list of what you’ll have access to below. Possibly more spreadsheets will become available on work that I’ve done if the demand is there for it. This is all just a starting point and hopefully growth dictates more to be done.
The Goalie Scout ($8 USD/Month)
This is the Tier for those that want access to not just a lot of stats that are all included in the “Goalie Parent” Tier but also want to read evaluations on goalies as well. You don’t have to watch any tape on goalies as it’ll be done for you. Right now have quite a few already up with more on the way! There’s going to be some interactivity from the start on this Tier as every week people can make suggestions as to who they want to see an evaluation on. The caveats for now are the goalie has to be playing in a league that isn’t going to cost a lot of money to watch. I’m subscribed to FloHockey (CJHL, USHL, some NCAA men’s/women’s hockey and I mean some, CSSHL, ECHL, BCHL, etc) & CHLtv/AHLtv is relatively cheap for 24 hour access to games so those are on the table. MHL, VHL, and the Russian Women’s league is free on YouTube so those are options. If you have a goalie in mind that doesn’t play in a league named above you can still suggest them and I’ll do my best to find a way to watch them but can’t guarantee anything until it becomes financially viable. I’ll be keeping a list of the goalies on the Patreon available here on the website so people know at least if a goalie they’re interested in has been evaluated.
Goalie Scout Director ($20 USD/Month)
If you want the ultimate Tier that makes you feel like all the goalie knowledge in the world is available to you then this is the one you want. Obviously this Tier comes at a much higher financial commitment and it’s simply because of the time, effort, and finances that need to go into making these videos. If you want to see what will be done you can look at the Giants in the Crease YouTube page where goalie evaluation videos have been done with one recently posted this past week on 2024 NHL Draft prospect Thatcher Bernstein. At this Tier you can still participate in asking for a specific goalie(s) but also you get the bonus of asking for a goalie to be evaluated via video. The only thing left up in the air when it comes to this Tier is whether or not these will be Early Access Videos meaning eventually they’ll end on the Giants in the Crease public facing YouTube channel. A poll will be put up and we’ll let the Patrons decide what happens in this Tier.
Giants in the Crease has been around now for about 8 years now and hoping to be around for a lot more. It’s been a great journey so far and have met great people along the way from all parts of the hockey community. I know growth isn’t instant so I’m looking forward to seeing where this is all going to lead to! Maybe it'll even lead to an actual website and not being hosted on Wix with all the severe limitations it comes with.