NHL players Voice Concerns Over Olympic Ice Size

The standard size in the National Hockey League is 200 feet long by 85 feet wide. Though, the rink expected to be used in Italy will be 196.85 feet long and 85.3 feet wide. This smaller surface area raises concerns about the impact on gameplay,especially given ongoing delays in arena construction.

“I hope that’s not the case,” said Team USA head coach Mike Sullivan. “If this is the case, it’s probably the neutral zone that will suffer or the back of the net. If it were to be the neutral zone, it will be very difficult to create offense in transition as there will simply be no space to maneuver with.”

The Brady brothers and Matthew Tkachuk were not afraid to speak out on the matter in their podcast Wingmen.

“Even if it’s not safe, I still wont to play. I don’t care, I just want to go out there and compete. I’m ready to play on the ocean if necessary,” said Matthew Tkachuk.

“We could play at the rink at the park around the corner, I would be there. I’m excited to see if the smaller ice will have an impact,” added Brady.

This controversy surrounding the size of the rink led to a very interesting reflection on the part of Miles Redmond of The Hockey News.