nhl ice quality

[evor1 6]

are nhl ice rinks completely flat or are they sloped in at the edges of the boards like it is at the local rinks around here.

[beaucoup_fish 0]

i've never skated on nhl ice, but call me crazy, i'm pretty sure the ice surfaces are on an even plane all the way through.

i could also be misunderstanding what exactly you mean by "sloped in at the edges of the boards," but that's another issue.

[LilCharlie 0]

I'm not real sure what it's like. I know ice conditions vary from one arena to the next. Most arenas, if not all of them, are also used for other entertainment purposes like concerts and basketball games so this makes it tough to maintain good conditions for the ice. This is especially a problem in arenas where they are in a warmer climate. I heard Dallas has a heck of a time trying to keep their ice in good condition. I had the pleasure of skating at MSA in Indianapolis, before it was torn down, where the Ind. Ice used to skate and while the ice was flat and didn't seem to have any problem areas, it was some of the softest ice I've ever skated on.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

are nhl ice rinks completely flat or are they sloped in at the edges of the boards like it is at the local rinks around here.

Sloped-in edges means that the ice maintenance guys are not edging the ice. You don't want that...

[sc37 0]

I didnt play with my team on the CBJ ice but I play on their practice rink which is right next door and it sucks, but it is flat though unlike the others around town. But it is nice and hard or so I thought even during some of the warmer months, so they do keep it chilled properly, but it's the stupid drivers who got no clue what they doing.

[UC-CP-SF-dB 0]

The ice at the United Center here in Chicago is super fast and FLAT......also the water is distilled so there are no impurities in the water.

[lb33knight 0]

are nhl ice rinks completely flat or are they sloped in at the edges of the boards like it is at the local rinks around here.

Sloped-in edges means that the ice maintenance guys are not edging the ice. You don't want that...

Correct. The ice will start to get shaped like a bowl. Also the zam drivers are probably laying down too much water as they turn. The rate that the water is let out of the zam stays the same. So if you drive slower it lays more water in that area. And you usually slow down around the corners so that's where it builds up. Most NHL rinks are held to a higher standard and the ice is certainly taken down, painted, and built up again much more often than the average rink that serves the general public.

[JR Boucicaut 3804]

are nhl ice rinks completely flat or are they sloped in at the edges of the boards like it is at the local rinks around here.

Sloped-in edges means that the ice maintenance guys are not edging the ice. You don't want that...

Correct. The ice will start to get shaped like a bowl. Also the zam drivers are probably laying down too much water as they turn. The rate that the water is let out of the zam stays the same. So if you drive slower it lays more water in that area. And you usually slow down around the corners so that's where it builds up. Most NHL rinks are held to a higher standard and the ice is certainly taken down, painted, and built up again much more often than the average rink that serves the general public.

It's always fun to watch Zam drivers. Watch them make their turns and see if they cut down their water...a lot don't, and you get situations like that.

[willy0314 0]

are nhl ice rinks completely flat or are they sloped in at the edges of the boards like it is at the local rinks around here.

The slope is from not turning the water down in the corners when the resurfacer is moving slower. I've skated at HSBC a couple times, and on the practice rink behind the CBJ arena (freakin awesome setup by the way) and the ice, glass, and boards were so much better then what you get on local rinks its not even funny.

[Maka 0]

Apparently the ice at the HP Pavillion here in San Jose is absolute crap due to the demand for a warmer environment by the yuppies who don't want to be cold at a hockey game. I have yet to skate on it myself, but next time they have an employee skate session, I'll see for myself.

[blues_91 0]

I've skated at GM place a few times, the ice is simply amazing. Smooth, hard, and really easy to skate on. I almost wouldn't mind being bag skated on it.

[Jarick 5]

At the XCel, the ice was fast and flat, boards were super bouncy, although the arena itself is warm compared to the usual ice rink.

[Abbieshockey20 1]

Skated at the Corel Center (now Scotiabank Place) way back in like atom, but I found it to be great ice, extremely flat and smooth.

[Jordan 13]

I have skated at both the Air Canada Center and the the old Maple Leaf Gardens and both have/had mediocre ice at best.

Funny thing about the sloped edges, the ice guys in Philadelphia, back in the "Broadstreet Bullies" days used top manually shave down the ice around the perimeter to keep pucks along the boards more often, allowing an advantage for big rough team.

Crazy man !

Everyone always talks about the ice in Edmonton being the best in the league. They are supposed to have a great ice guy, and they also happen to live in a cold dry environment.

[mrusse01 0]

Maple Leaf Gardens had brutal ice when I was there, I hear ACC is about average now. I've skated on the new Oshawa General's rink the GM Centre or whatever, and it is amazing.

[tips09 0]

Maple Leaf Gardens had brutal ice when I was there, I hear ACC is about average now. I've skated on the new Oshawa General's rink the GM Centre or whatever, and it is amazing.

I have skated on quite a bit of dub rinks and just the difference between the dub rinks and most public rinks is definately noticable.What I noticed the most was that the ice was alot faster which was nice.

[Nutella 0]

The ice at St. Cloud State varies daily from amazing to barely acceptable.

There are a myriad of Zam drivers and only the old guy does a bang up job.

It's insane what the ice looks like after open skate.. on the main rink. It's pretty depressing.

The Xcel Energy Center ice was AMAZING. Well.. not that great, but it was awesome. :lol:

[hapamatt122 0]

I haven't skated at Staples Center but I used to play league at the kings practice facility and that ice was by far the most superior surface compared to any other local rink

[Sparty4 0]

I used to skate at Munn Ice Arena(MSU Spartans)and that ice was incredible. They kept the ice so thin that if the zamboni driver scraped a hair too much off at night he was hitting concrete. That arena is overall just an incredible place to play.

I've skated at Joe Louis too, ice was good but the ice surface itself felt tiny compared to other rinks. No room behind the net and real tight between top of the circles and the blue line. that's another topic though.

[DamnLocust 0]

I think I've posted this before, but there's better ice at the Islanders' practice facility in Syosset than at Nassau Coliseum. The boards and glass were lively though, and the experience was pretty cool.

Like Sparty, I found that the ice felt small at the coliseum, whereas it feels huge at the practice facility. I'll just attribute it to the 18000 empty seats around us while we were on the ice.

[thorpedo26 0]

i get to skate at acc in dallas this year :P ill let ya know how the ice was

[x107metallica 0]

The major difference between the ice at a nhl rink and the ice at your local arena is traffic. Nhl ice see about 2 hours of skaiting and a game on a busy day. Where the local rink i would at has almost 18 hours of skating on it including figure and public skating on a good saturday. They have alot more time to dry shave where we dont.

[biff44 0]

Like they said, it is supposed to be flat, not cup shaped. Poor zam driver. They do have a system now, I think it is for Olympia, that sets the blade height via a laser leveling system. Takes out operator error. The problem with the cup shape is that the ice in the corners is at a different temperature, and therefore hardness, than the ice at the center due to differing thicknesses.