Word is, Tubby Mullard, a 4 ft. 5 in. tall goaltender and winner of the first Venison Trophy (circa 1890), was near-sighted.
That little-known fact affected his answer when asked what his favourite rink was by Din O’Danny O’Doyle, a seasoned reporter for Le Gazette du Montreal in 1895.
“I loved playing indoors at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. It was so well-lit I could see the puck past center ice, even though the pad was over 200 feet long.”
[“The Victoria Skating Rink”: Link to photo]
“Why, some of the barns I played in were just that. Barns. Lit with gas lanterns. And though many of the rinks were shorter than The Grand Victoria - I always call it The Grand - I couldn’t see the d--- puck until it was almost in my face.”
“And it did get in my face. Look here. I lost this tooth just last week. Look at this big gap now up here inside my mouth. Look it. Makes me cry, it does.”
Tubby was always one for pointing out his battle wounds and went on to show O’Danny O’Doyle fresh stitches behind his left ear and a scar on his buttock from a high stick he caught late into the 1894 season.
Readers have probably heard stories like Tubby’s many times over, but it is worth repeating here, along with a few details related to the size of hockey rinks in the National Hockey League, because I feel the size of the ice pad is connected to the rise of head injuries, heat-shots, high elbows and concussions that we hear so much about today.
From Wikipedia, as stated earlier:
“Most North American rinks follow the National Hockey League (NHL) specifications of 200 feet (61 m) × 85 feet (26 m).”
Nowhere could I find the area of the ice surface, and after several complicated mathematical calculations I discovered it to be 17,000 sq. ft. That works out to 1,700 sq. ft. per player (not including goalies), which seems like a fair amount of space per player to skate around upon - perfectly safe, unhindered - but a lot of them seem to bunch up in the corners with elbows flying at ear level, and as we all know, ears live just outside the brainpan.
Wikipedia supplies an answer to the obvious question, why are NHL rinks 200 by 85 feet?
“Origins - The rink specifications originate from the ice surface of the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, constructed in 1862, where the first indoor game was played in 1875. Its ice surface measured 204 feet (62 m) × 80 feet (24 m).” (Link to more fascinating information)
For those who must know (and I think you must), the area of The Grand Victoria was 16,320 sq.ft.
Admittedly, the regulation NHL ice surface is larger than that at the Victoria, but... is it large enough for today’s giants?
Stay tuned for more of my brilliant ideas.
***
Please click here to read PT 3 - The NHL has a ‘small’ problem.
.
No comments:
Post a Comment