Cindy Peterson and her son Blake left Nationwide Arena on Friday morning with paintbrushes stained blue and a story they’ll be able to tell their friends for the entire 2022-23 hockey season.
The Blue Jackets season ticket holders were among 12 CBJ fans taking part this morning who won a renewal contest with a very special reward — the opportunity to come to the downtown arena and help paint the ice ahead of the upcoming campaign.
Armed with cups of blue paint and custom brushes — “I painted the blue line on 9/9/2022,” they read — the fans made sure the Nationwide ice will in fact have blue lines this year.
The water-based paint froze quickly to the 1/8-inch-thick ice, meaning any happy accidents outside the lines weren’t going anywhere (at least until painted over later), and allowing the select group of fans to see behind the curtain of what it takes to make the playing surface happen.
“Now we know why people trip over the blue line is because of all the drops that got left from the dribbles,” Cindy joked afterward.
Blake, meanwhile, was happy with his work once the hour-long session was over.
“10 out of 10,” he said. “Not a single flaw at all. It was perfect.”
Blue Jackets ice technician Ian Huffman appreciated the help, which came as part of the days-long process to get the surface ready for the season nationwide. Huffman arrived at 5 am Friday, he said, and he and his crew began work around 7 by spraying base layers of paint and ice before the playing surface markings and sponsor/team logos were placed.
From there, the next few days will be about flooding the ice to more than an inch thick, which is the starting point to allow it to handle the rigors of the next seven-plus months of hockey.
“It’s kind of the kickoff to the season for me, the crew and everyone here,” Huffman said. “Everyone is excited. Everyone feels the building is colder. Once you look out and see something besides the bare concrete — the boards, the rink is in, the glass is up — you get a little antsier each day to get the season. started.”
It’s a ballet that requires precision, especially in a world of high-definition cameras and replay reviews, where it truly does become a game of inches a few times each season when it comes to deciding whether something is a goal or a save. Yet nothing is perfect, as evidenced by the paint splatters Friday morning on Huffman’s head and T-shirt.
“It’s just collateral damage,” Huffman said.
Huffman said the process gets a little easier each year, either because of experience gained or tips and tricks picked up from elsewhere around the league. It is also nice to have not just members of the Blue Jackets ice crew but season ticket holders on hand to get the job done.
“The young man I was out there with today, he said, ‘I would never have thought I’d ever get to do that,'” Huffman said. “It’s cool to share the experience a bit. Stuff you might take for granted at times… it’s fun to share the experience with the crew and the season ticket holders.”
Work will continue over the coming days to finish things off ahead of the first home preseason game Sept. 25 against Pittsburgh, but the groups of season ticket holders in attendance will know throughout the season they had a hand in getting the ice ready for the campaign.
They might have put their own little twist on things, too. If you looked at the east blue line at just the right angle Friday, you might have noticed an extra “B” painted into the line, blue paint on top of blue paint. Once it’s covered with an inch of ice, it won’t be noticeable at all, but Blake will be able to tell his friends there’s a little hidden message across from the visiting bench.
“It’s for Blue Jackets,” he said afterwards with a smile. “But maybe for Blake, too.”
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