RALEIGH, N.C. — Filing a beer as a work expense? Not a big deal. We’re permitted to do that here at The Athletic.

Now, a beer that was a) purchased at an arena b) expressly for work purposes c) costing $34.10 with tip and d) consumed from a miniature hockey skate? That was new.

Therein lies the power of The Beer Skate, though, introduced by the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of Game 1 of their second-round Stanley Cup playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers. It’s the most recent in a series of what we’ll call “non-traditional drinking vessels” to show up in NHL arenas (and pop dramatically on social media) over the last few months, and it was a collaboration between the Hurricanes and the vendor they use for more standard promotional items.

“They were like, ‘Well, we think we might be able to make a skate that you can actually like fill with beer.’ And we said, Well, that would be awesome,’” Hurricanes vice president of food and beverage Adam Hoffman told The Athletic. “Our team and their team and even the NHL — it takes everybody to kind of work together to create this. And really, we’re just excited because fans are excited.”

Even before Lenovo Center opened its doors on Saturday evening, it was mission accomplished for Hoffman. Everyone wanted The Skate You Drink Beer Out Of.

Jason Kelce, the Philadelphia Eagles legend and ESPN broadcaster, was among them. “This is so sick, would love to drink a beer out of this cauldron, but f— you guys for this next series,” he posted on X. Kelce, of course, is a Flyers fan.

“I didn’t appreciate the last line,” Hoffman said with a laugh. “But that’s OK, we won’t fault him.”

At that point, 48 minutes after gates opened, Hoffman said the Hurricanes had already sold more than 2,000 skates. Some vendors in the arena’s main concourse, during The Athletic’s editor-assigned quest to find one for ourselves, said they’d already needed to re-up on their supplies. An empty skate cost $19. If you bought a beer, it was $12, plus the cost of whatever you were drinking. If you don’t drink or weren’t thirsty, you could get one filled with candy for $22.

My assignment was not to buy candy, and the third time was the charm. The folks manning a modular craft beer stand near Section 125 — I wanted a Miller Lite, but whatever — said that they couldn’t pull a draft directly into the 28-ounce skate because there was no corresponding price. They were kind enough, though, to open my pint of Seven Saturdays IPA and pour it into the skate for me. On my way back to the press box, I got to do a Beer Skate cheers with a Hurricanes fan, and three separate people asked where they could get one for themselves.

The experience was a solid 9/10. The handle was a nice touch, as was the clear skate blade — if you’re drinking a beer out of a skate, you want people to know it. The real challenge is going to be fitting it in my carry-on; if I have to ditch my toiletry bag, those are the breaks. My girlfriend, and North America’s biggest baseball-helmet nacho fan, informed me that leaving it in Raleigh is not an option.

The drinking vessel’s design, of course, isn’t Hurricanes-specific in the way that Buffalo’s “Beer Sabre” and Utah’s “Tusk Mug” represent those respective NHL teams. But it still scratches the itch. “People say, ‘Ooh, customized,’” Hoffman said. “Unique stuff.”

He’s also got a more North Carolina-themed mug in mind for his next act.

“I do want to make an ice hog, though. One day.”