WEST HARTFORD, CT – Why wait for a summer camp to practice skills when you can train any time you want in your basement or backyard?
A growing solution to the problem of limited rink availability is synthetic ice. It is totally free of the need for refrigeration, is simple to maintain, and is easy to assemble and take apart.
Introduced to the skating world in the 1960’s using a combination of polymers developed by DuPont, it was first put to use as a full sized skating floor in 1982. Assembled in panels, the surface became a rink when sprayed with a special gliding fluid. Over the years, improvements such as better polymers and liquid surface enhancers have been made to make the surface less sticky and glide much more realistically.
“Not only do I sell the ice, I have a rental program that lets players and families try it out at home,” said John Thiell. His company – 3DHockeyLLC.com – offers a variety of training solutions that include synthetic ice rinks of all sizes as well as refrigerated rinks and treadmills. A distributor for Smart Ice Rink Systems, Thiell is also a minor hockey league coach for the West Hartford Wolves.
“Smart Ice Rink Systems offers precision milled synthetic ice sheets for amateur and professional hockey and figure skating markets,” said Thiell. “It is 100% recyclable, safe, non-toxic, and resistant to corrosion, chemicals, decay, and insects. All kinds of sizes can be assembled and added onto at any time in the future; my trial sheet is a 12 x 32′ that can be customized as needed.”
Current estimates show synthetic ice surfaces having about 90% of the glide compared to natural ice surfaces. Many players are starting to endorse synthetic ice, and the range of events using it is growing.
“We recently installed our first full NHL-sized synthetic ice rink for the Tahquamenon Area Youth Hockey Association in Newberry, MI,” Thiell remarked. When the weather turns cols enough the facility floods the rink with a thin layer of real ice on top of the panels. A new, totally synthetic, full-sized arena is already under construction for the association’s outdoor recreation complex.
“I have been talking to NBCSN’s James Stuart to find out if the NHL would be interested in using Smart Ice for the warmer outdoor games as a side rink for the kids to skate on,” Thiell continued. “It would certainly be a better alternative to the roller hockey surface Jeremy Roenick was skating on a few years ago at Dodger Stadium in L.A. I’m also working on several things here in Connecticut like a Summer Pond Hockey Tournament to raise money for local charities.”
“We are still challenged by a major shortage of ice here in the United States,” said Jack Vivian, Managing Partner for Smart Ice and four-time Stanley Cup winner as a scout for the NY Islanders. “But we can change that by building more rinks, managing what we have better, and learning about synthetic ice surfaces that can give young hockey players the ability to practice in their ice skates.”
With the flexibility and convenience that synthetic ice may promise for the future of pro hockey, perhaps one day we could see end of teams losing their home ice advantage to the circus during the playoffs.
Photos courtesy of 3D Hockey
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