Penguins counting the days till Winter Classic
PITTSBURGH – Consol Energy Center was recently named the NHL’s best arena. So naturally the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to abandon the building and its considerable comforts to play outdoors this Saturday.
For the second time in the four-year history of the NHL Winter Classic, the Penguins are one of the participating teams for the New Year’s Day game. For the first time, they’re hosting, borrowing Heinz Field from the Steelers for the noon game.
For a lot of players, outdoor hockey is a return to their roots in the game.
“In my home town, the city would build three or four ice rinks,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. “They would build them in the parks with nets and boards. My uncle and my dad would build one, too, in our back yard. Every day after school, I would put my skates on and go play on one of those rinks.”
How much time did Fleury log on those outdoor rinks?
“I would play until I get yelled at by my mom,” he said.
Defenseman Deryk Engelland grew up in western Canada and would often play on a lake that had frozen over.
“Our dad would plow off the rink and we’d go out and skate on the weekends,” he said. “Nothing organized, just for fun.”
Things were similar south of the Canadian border, too. Defenseman Paul Martin grew up in Elk River, Minnesota, and outdoor games were part of his routine.
“We had a pond behind our house growing up, and to this day we still skate on the pond when I go back for the All-Star break,” Martin said. “The local rink had outdoor rinks right next to it, so after practice indoors you’d go out and play outdoors.”
Most of the outdoor activity was spontaneous rather than being organized. “Mostly it’s hard to have organized games outside with the weather,” Martin said. “It’s so cold there in the winter. Mostly it was pick-up games before and after practice, and even after games. There’s always one or two games a year that you had outdoors.”
Defenseman Brooks Orpik grew up in Buffalo, where there were some interesting compromises. He recalled playing on rinks that had roofs to keep snow off the surface. But those same rinks didn’t have walls, so there was still an open-air effect.
“That made for some cold ones,” Orpik said. “Even in prep school, there were a lot of rinks where there was a roof and open sides. Hopefully it’s not as cold as some of those ones were.
“I remember some of the ones in high school you’d sit on the bench and take a sip of water, and the water that dripped on your jersey about 20 seconds later was frozen to your jersey.”
The NHL will do what it can to make conditions as smooth as possible. The league’s rink specialists arrived last week and went to work as soon as the Steelers’ game against the Carolina Panthers ended on Dec. 23.
But even with all the planning and experience, there’s only so much the league can do before surrendering to the elements. That’s part of the appeal of playing outdoors.
Forward Chris Kunitz remembered playing in outdoor games where players were as likely to wield shovels as sticks.
“You would be responsible for shoveling if there was snow,” he said. “They would water it down and put up the boards. You’d play for an hour or so, then you’d go out and shovel.”
It’s important that the Penguins don’t get caught up in the novelty of their surroundings. It isn’t an exhibition game.
“We’ll have practice the day before and the pre-game skate,” Engelland said. “You try to take it all in then and then get to the game and try to get the outcome we want.”
Forward Max Talbot said it will be the usual Penguins-Capitals intensity and that only difference will be the extra layers of clothing the players might choose.
“There’s going to be so much hype about it, we’ll stay focused on what it is,” Talbot said. “We’re playing Washington here, not St. Louis or some team from the other conference that we don’t see very often. It means something and we’ll be ready.”
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Question of the week:
– If you could pick the weather conditions for the Winter Classic, what would you choose?
– Max Talbot: “Around the freezing point, maybe a little, little snow. Just cold and sunny would be nice.”
– Chris Kunitz: “You don’t want it to be too sunny because that will warm up the ice. You don’t want it to be sleeting because that makes it tough to play. If we could have a little bit of snow early in the day to get that nice feel, I think an overcast day somewhere around 35 would be ideal for everybody.”
– Paul Martin: “Maybe no snow at all so the ice stays nice. Once the game starts, a little snow drizzle would be nice. No rain, definitely. Some sun.”
– Deryk Engelland: “No snow. Not too warm so the ice stays good. Both teams are playing on it, so you just have to take what you get.”
– Mark Letestu: “Not too cold and a little bit snowy. It would be picturesque to have the snow falling to really cement the fact it’s a pond hockey game. But not too cold so I’m not all red in the face.”
– Pascal Dupuis: “Cloudy and 26. Snow only in the shootout.”
– Marc-Andre Fleury: “Not too humid. Just dry and chilly. When it gets humid, the ice gets really bad and soft. If there could be a little snow, it would be interesting.”
– Brooks Orpik: “I guess the game in Boston last year was just about perfect, 32 and no snow. That’s probably the best. For visual effects, they’re probably hoping for some snow. Right around freezing temperatures is good.”