How good is the Olympic ice? Let's ask someone who played on it this weekend
The Olympic ice surface has been a big topic of conversation. Let's include someone who played on it in that conversation.
Based on Twitter/X direct messages, I’ve indirectly “known” Florian Wieser since at least 2018 when he reached out asking how he could get a copy of my first book 100 Things Stars Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die in Italy.
Since then we’ve messaged occasionally, Florian is one of the original readers of Wrong Side of the Red Line — for those who remember that — and listens regularly to Spits & Suds, the Stars-based podcast I appear on weekly with my pal Gavin Spittle.
As a quick aside, Florian became a Stars fan because he grew up with a cousin named Dominik, who happened to be a goalie. When he would shoot on his cousin, he would play the role of Mike Modano.
Anywho, Florian and I connected this morning over the phone to talk about Olympic hockey and the very-public curiosity about the building in which the games will be played next month.
Florian plays for Sv Kaltern/Caldaro in the Italian second division. This past weekend they won the Coppa Italia, defeating Alleghe 5-0 in the final, in an event that was played in the new, still-under-construction, Olympic venue.
There’s been a lot of talk about the venue, and I think everyone can accept that it’s pretty embarrassing that less than a month from Game 1 of the Olympics, the building is still very much under construction.
But, if the NHL’s biggest issue, as we’ve been told, is player safety, we should start there.
Was the ice surface safe from a player’s perspective?
“The ice wasn’t perfect, but it was really good, especially for the final game, which was the this game on the ice,” Florian said. “It was a bit harder for that game, there also wasn’t a giant hole. There was a small crack, two centimeters deep, it happens on any sheet, you fix it up. Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if the ice was better than it was in Florida for the Stanley Cup Final.”
Florian is referring to the now viral picture from Chris Johnston that feature a watering can on the ice in the middle of his first game.
Florian actually spoke to Johnston after the game, which Chris later posted about, and he told me that as someone who’s played in Europe now for close two decades, it’s not uncommon for a crack to happen on a new sheet.
I texted with someone I know who works in ice maintenance at an NHL building to ask them, and they said that’s true. Ice, when it’s first built, sometimes breaks a bit, the cracking from the pressure on it is actually how ice fixes its other insecurities — science!
OK, so if the ice feels safe, what about the rest. What about the construction zone surrounding the rink?
“That’s the bigger problem I guess, it is still a construction site,” Florian said. “So there is still a lot of work to be done, we dressed in one locker room that was pretty well setup, and then walked through a tunnel to a smaller one to finish getting ready.”
The IOC and IIHF seem confident that issue will be solved before the Olympics start, construction has gone back into overdrive apparently after the Coppa Italia. Either way, Florian looked at all of it from this perspective.
“It’s going to be hockey, the ice is going to be safe, but it’s not going to be what NHLers are used to,” he said. “There are temporary seats because it’ll be a concert venue later, things like that. But also, even those NHLers didn’t play all their lives in perfect new arenas, I kind of believe they’ll just be hockey players, they will play and they’ll be fine.”
That’s a great segue to talk to a couple NHLers that are very much looking forward to playing in the venue next month.
After talking to Florian via phone, I chatted with Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond after the Red Wings morning skate on Monday.
“From my understanding it’ll be more than good enough to play,” Seider said. “(The German) federation has been there multiple times, and they’ve told us it’s looking good. It’s gonna be in good shape, so honesty, I’m not really stressed about it. It feels like a lot of noise to add stress you don’t need.”
Seider, who is normally a bit stoic, actually started smiling and getting excited while we chatted about the Olympics. He couldn’t help but flash a big smile when I asked about that.
“I mean, yeah, I’ve books some flights, family is ready, it’s something I’ve looked forward to my entire life,” Seider said. “You dream about the Olympics, you dream about the opportunity. Growing up watching Michael Phelps and Usain Bolt, that’s what the Olympics means to me. It’s something I’ve always dreamed of being able to do for my country.”
It’s interesting hearing Seider’s perspective, because for him the Olympics are “not just a hockey thing,” it’s an all-sport, world-event that for him connects no matter what the sport is. That’s why he brought Phelps and Bolt when talking about the Olympics and his memories.
“It’s about the Olympic spirit, not the hockey spirit or anything,” Seider said. “Hockey is part of it, but the Olympics mean more than just hockey.”
Raymond, who will play for Sweden at the Olympics, said he hasn’t been too worried about the venue. Raymond, in fact, said he felt a lot of the outside noise about he menu is more media driven than anything.
“I get it’s not good it’s not built and done yet, but as players were we really not going to go?” Raymond said. “This is what so many of us have been dreaming about, playing for your country at the Olympics. Is a bad locker room or whatever really worth not going?”
And that’s kind of the sentiment I’ve gotten from others going to the Olympics. Hockey will be played, the ice is going to be safe, and if some other typical comforts of NHL life aren’t available, it won’t be the end of the world.