Maklin Celebrini (71) fires a shot over goaltender Jeremy Swayman’s shoulder and scores a power play goal during second period action – Photo by Jack Lima
There have been persistent concerns for several months about the standard of the venue that will host next year’s ice hockey matches, and there are no signs that the Santagiulia Arena is ready to take responsibility for what is usually considered one of the main events of the Winter Olympics.
Officials from the National Hockey League, the sport’s premier event, have repeatedly made it clear that if they feel the facilities and playing surfaces are not up to par, players competing in the North American league may be absent.
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Speaking about conditions in Italy, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly provided candid comments.
‘If the ice is unplayable, the ice is also unplayable’
“I don’t want to beat around the bush. We will probably know that before the official start of the Games. What you do at that moment becomes another matter.”
“Obviously, if the players feel like the ice is unsafe, we’re not going to play.”
“It’s that simple.”
On one more conciliatory commentDaly added.
“We have offered our ice experts and technicians and third-party suppliers and they are using them,”
“We’re basically moving everyone there to try to get this done in a way that’s acceptable to NHL athletes. And I’m cautiously optimistic that it will be fruitful.”
The fact that we are only a matter of weeks away from the opening of the games on February 6 is something of a mountain for the Italians to conquer, and the closer we get to the tournament, the less likely the star players will be in attendance, making the event something of a non-starter.
Remember, NHL stars play for all the major countries, so if NHL players decide not to risk participating, it would seriously disrupt the overall quality of the tournament.
At the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, it was the Finnish team that emerged victorious, with the United States surprisingly defeated by Slovakia in the quarter-finals.
NHL players were missing from both the 2018 and 2022 Winter Olympics, and organizers will be desperate to avoid a three-peat.
One of the issues in question is the size of the planned ice rinks.
Team Canada assistant coach Peter DeBoer commented on this.
“The ice surface appears to be smaller than NHL rink standards, probably about three feet,”
Team Canada general manager Doug Armstrong added.
“Where they’re going to take the ice out – will it be in the neutral zone? Will it be the same in all three zones? Will it just be in the offensive zone?”
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