Refrigeration unit arrives for 2023 NHL Heritage Classic in Edmonton

EDMONTON -- Setup began for the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic with the arrival of the NHL mobile refrigeration truck at Commonwealth Stadium on Tuesday.

The Edmonton Oilers will host the Calgary Flames in the outdoor game at the 57,000-seat facility Oct. 29 (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX). The game marks the 20th anniversary of the first NHL regular-season outdoor game, held at Commonwealth Stadium in 2003. The Montreal Canadiens defeated the Oilers 4-3.

“There are only two units (refrigeration trucks) like this that we know of, and we own both of them,” said Mike Craig, NHL senior director of hockey operations and facilities operations. “We have two units like this for different events. If we have multiple events in a season, we’re able to operate both.”

The refrigeration truck travels to venues from its storage location in Ontario. The first truck was built in 2008, and the one being used for the upcoming Heritage Classic was constructed in 2013. The refrigeration truck makes the process of laying down a sheet of ice worthy of hosting an NHL game more efficient than it used to be.

A crew of 18 will begin making the ice once all the equipment is put in place this week.

“We’ll park the trailer today and then we have a couple of days of getting our ice piping down,” Craig said. “And on the 21st we’ll have our ice pans down, and then we’ll get to making the ice shortly thereafter. Really, it’s only about 10 days from start to finish.”

The process of constructing an outdoor rink has come a long way since the 2003 game here, when a refrigeration unit to create and maintain the ice surface was brought in specifically for the event.

“The first Heritage Classic was a portable skid, so something that would be similar inside the truck that was brought here to the stadium,” Craig said. “Since that time, we’ve built a portable unit that fits on the refrigeration truck. So, everything that you have here would be similar to what we have in one of our regular NHL venues. Everything fits within this truck.”

Craig was part of the crew that worked on the ice surface 20 years ago under his father, Dan, who for decades was one of the leading icemakers in the world. Dan Craig was in charge of the rink at the Oilers’ former arena, then known as Northlands Coliseum, which was long considered to have the best ice surface in the NHL, before going on to work for the League. He retired in 2021.

“I can’t believe it was 20 years ago,” Craig said. “I have a lot of memories coming back here. It was a great event at that time. We really thought it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Obviously, we’ve kind of continued from there and it’s been special all the way along. To do a number of events and then come back to the original place of the Heritage Classic, it’s really special.”

In 2003, Mike and his father had to deal with issues as they arose. The biggest problem was the bitterly cold temperature the day of the game, Nov. 22, which dropped to 22 below zero. The ice became too hard and began to chip, making it difficult for players to control the puck.

"It's definitely evolved over the years," Craig said. "We’ve learned a lot in the last 20 years we’ve been doing this -- 30-plus games -- and we continue to learn each time we have one of these events. The first time here for example, [things] ran as though it was going to be a permanent rink [at Commonwealth Stadium] and now everything is mobile."

Cold is no longer a major issue for the ice crew, but there are other weather-related problems that have arisen in the NHL’s 37 outdoor games.

“Sun is going to be one of our main challenges, or if we get warm rain,” said Derek King, NHL senior director of hockey operations and facilities operations. “The sun we’ve been able to handle. We have the insulated tarps that we’re able to put down, so if it is sunny during the day, we’ll cover the sheet of ice and do all of our ice-making at night. We’ve kind of learned how to deal with things over the years. When it comes to the cold, we use insulated tarps to try and keep the ice within its proper temperatures.”

The pipes laid down underneath the surface, which carry the glycol liquid to make the ice, can be cooled and heated as required to keep the ice at an optimal temperature.

“We know this is an important game for the players early in the season and two points are on the line, so we want to give them the best possible sheet of ice we can,” King said. “So, we’ll talk to them on practice day, we’ll get feedback. We can’t control the weather, so we’ll worry about what we can control and communicate throughout game day. We do as much as we can and dial into what we need to on that sheet.”