{"id":443644,"date":"2026-02-03T17:48:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T17:48:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/443644\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T17:48:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T17:48:14","slug":"canadian-ice-master-says-nhl-stars-will-love-olympic-surface","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/443644\/","title":{"rendered":"Canadian ice master says NHL stars will love Olympic surface"},"content":{"rendered":"

MILAN – Don Moffatt, the ice master at the 2026 Olympic hockey tournament, is working his fifth Winter Games in Milan. The pride of Peterborough, Ont. has never experienced anything like this.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis one has been unbelievably challenging,\u201d Moffatt told TSN. \u201cThe other Olympics I\u2019ve had test events a year out, so I learned the systems. I learned the buildings. And then, when it comes time to put the ice in for the Olympics, I usually have it in at least three to four weeks ahead of the Olympics. I can get it skated on, broken in, and really finely tuned. This one was definitely a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n

Due to construction delays at the privately funded Santagiulia Arena, which will host the biggest games at the Olympic tournament, Moffatt only started putting in the ice last week. <\/p>\n

\u201cI waited until the last second, until most of the construction around the field of play here was completed,\u201d Moffatt said. \u201cI\u2019ve kind of been, you know, an a—-e the last week. I can count on one hand the number of people that have been on that ice surface so far. About three days ago, it was the owner of the actual building that I screamed at, and he very nicely got off the ice. A couple of people came out to take pictures and I\u2019m like, \u2018Not allowed. Sorry.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

But the 67-year-old, who oversees ice-making for the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, is now finally ready to share his creation with the world. And Moffatt believes this ice is among the best he\u2019s made at any Olympics. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s dense,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s solid. Your skates don\u2019t go into it. I\u2019m kind of a bigger guy and I tried. I\u2019ve skated my entire life. I\u2019m obviously not nearly at the talent level that\u2019s coming here to play, but I\u2019m big enough that I should be able to cut the ice if I want to and I couldn\u2019t. So, yeah, it\u2019s in really good condition right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

The ice, aesthetically, also looks much better than it did at the delayed test event that was eventually held at the arena in December.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was produced in the middle of a construction site,\u201d Moffatt noted. \u201cIce quality was very good, but the look was horrible. It was kind of brownish and that was based on all the construction going on around us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Don Moffatt, the ice master at the Milan Olympic arenas, says in a statement provided by the local organizing committee that he’s “happy and satisfied” with the surface so far. He says the hole that appeared during last night’s game was “in line with the usual process.” pic.twitter.com\/hsCHJnmJks<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) January 10, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

The first practice at the arena took place on Monday night with the French men\u2019s team hitting the ice. The host Italians will play the first game at the arena on Thursday afternoon when they open the women\u2019s tournament against France. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very ice-friendly schedule here,\u201d Moffatt said. \u201cWe start with some women\u2019s games. Absolutely no disrespect to the women, but they really don\u2019t damage the ice. They\u2019re skilled and they\u2019re incredible players, but they\u2019re not heavy enough to actually do a lot of damage to it. So, it really helps me to have some women\u2019s games on here to just kind of break the surface in. I tell people that ice is kind of like a muscle. You have to break it down a little bit and then build it back up and it\u2019ll get stronger. So that\u2019s what we\u2019ll do for this first week.\u201d <\/p>\n

The first men\u2019s games at the venue will be held on Feb. 11. Team Canada will play its first game at the arena on Feb. 12 when Sidney Crosby and company open their tournament against David Pastrnak and Team Czechia. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think the players are going to love it,\u201d Moffatt said.<\/p>\n

The ice and much of the bowl is looking mostly ready, but there\u2019s still lots of work taking place inside the arena. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s still a lot that needs to be done under the seats and stuff,\u201d Moffatt acknowledged. \u201cI don\u2019t have a room to put my spare board parts and glass parts yet. Coming this week, I hope, you know, so it\u2019s definitely going to be last minute. But it is amazing just being here and seeing how many people are working, trying to get things done.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel good,\u201d said Veronika Muhlhofer, who is the event general manager at Santagiulia Arena. \u201cThe closer we get, the better we feel. We\u2019ll feel best once we drop the first puck. There will be a small sigh of relief and then we\u2019re off to the races.\u201d<\/p>\n

The concourses still need work, but the fan experience will be a good one, Muhlhofer promises. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe bathrooms are already open and all of us are testing them as we spend our days here,\u201d she said with a smile. \u201cWe\u2019ve also taste tested the [concession] food, which was really good … There\u2019s a lot of cleaning we still want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muhlhofer readily admits not everything will get done. For example, there won\u2019t be as much parking available as initially planned. <\/p>\n

\u201cThere will be bits that aren\u2019t necessarily used by the Games,\u201d she said. \u201cYou might walk past and then you would see okay, this is an area that\u2019s not used by the Games.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena <\/p>\n

The bottom line is the arena will be ready for the Olympics. But just barely. <\/p>\n

\u201cThese are my ninth Games, and I totally understand why people would have been nervous because it was, let\u2019s say, a non-traditional timeline getting up to this,\u201d Muhlhofer said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a while in the Winter Games since we\u2019ve had such a case. This isn\u2019t what you\u2019d normally expect to see. A month ago, it wasn\u2019t what you\u2019d normally expect a month from the games.\u201d<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s some Olympic magic mixed into all the dust still inside the building. <\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the test event a lot of the construction workers would come in and they would watch,\u201d Moffatt recalled. \u201cSeeing their faces was really kind of cool. It was almost comical because they hadn\u2019t seen hockey and they didn\u2019t really know what was going to go on in the building. And there seemed to be a totally different atmosphere after the test event. People realized what was going to happen and got a little more excited.\u201d<\/p>\n