Hockey Players Are Playing On Thin Ice--Literally

Thin ice warning signs do little to prevent hockey players from falling through dangerous indoor ice.

It's chilling, but it's true. Hockey rinks with indoor-style ice ponds measuring eight feet (2.67 metres) deep or more have accounted for hundreds of drownings since the first ice pond rink was built in Montreal in 1929. (The numbers would be much higher if they thought it necessary to count on-ice officials.)

Because hockey players wear so much heavy equipment, they put more pressure on ice surfaces, increasing the likelihood of breaking through the ice. And when a hockey player (or a particularly large figureskater) cracks through the indoor ice, they tend to sink straight to the bottom, with no little or no chance of survival.

But why must the ice on indoor arenas be so deep?

Pond ice is traditionally Canadian. It's faster, slicker, and smoother than artificial ice, allowing skaters to reach higher speeds, make swifter turns, and perform quicker stops. When hockey progressed to being a predominantly indoor sport, it was necessary to construct deep-pooled ice rinks in order to recreate the quality conditions of natural outdoor ice. Pond-style ice gave Canada an edge, making them world leaders in the sport of hockey.

However, because of a warmer indoor environment, it is nearly impossible to keep an entire rink frozen solid, despite modern freezing equipment, and most often, ice rinks will fail to meet the legal thickness requirements (two feet). While places like the Forum in Montreal, Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, and the Iqaluit Arena And Icefishing Centre are more likely to have the optimal six or seven feet thickness, a typical non-regulated public arena might only have ice one foot thick, if even that.

It is these poorly maintained arenas that run the risk of ice-melt, or cracking, leading to a serious risk of drowning for indoor hockey players.

After the incident, the National Hockey League (NHL) experimented with foam-filled hockey equipment, which served not only to protect the players against pucks, but also to act as floatation devices in the event of breaking ice. It was far better than the bulky, oversized lifevests they had usually worn over their hockey pads. However the experiment eventually failed, because the hockey players looked silly wearing extremely baggy hockey jerseys.

Hockey Canada officials are now experimenting with a radical idea of building artificial ice rinks that have less than one inch of ice on the surface. One inch! The preposterously thin sheets of ice would have a protective concrete subsurface that would eliminate accidental drownings and other water-related fatalities.

Certainly the government is walking on thin ice with the issue of changing to a thinner, artificial ice. While they are extremely concerned with safety-related issues, they don't want to tamper with the integrity of its national sport.

The negative effects of this "thin ice" is that it will slow players down considerably. Plus, with so much stopping, skaters will tend to scrape off most of the ice, and their skate blades will make contact with underlying concrete, damaging the expensive metal blades.

However, with the thinner low quality ice, there should be a much higher safety factor. Not only is there little or no likelihood of drowning, it will probably remove the necessity of having ice rink lifeguard attendants, saving money for many revenue-challenged arenas.