Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty ImagesMINNEAPOLIS — Much like the rest of the world, the NHL has been dealing with COVID-19 cases that have caused disruption. Several games were postponed and rescheduled prior to the holiday break—so many that the NHL decided not to go to the upcoming 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, needing the previously scheduled Olympic break to make up the postponed games. The league extended its holiday break and rescheduled several Canadian games in order to protect revenues. Meanwhile, in Minnesota, the Winter Classic is set to resume on New Year’s Night. This game has the benefit of being played outside, so while there are COVID-19 concerns among the teams, the NHL is hoping fans can enjoy one day of hockey normalcy. Bleacher Report recently sat down with NHL Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Content Officer Steve Mayer to discuss the preparation for the game, some historic firsts and what fans all over the world can expect to see when they tune in to TNT to see the Minnesota Wild host the St. Louis Blues at Target Field. (Note: This interview has been edited for clarity and length.)
B/R: Each outdoor game is unique. What will set this one apart from some of the others? SM: One of the things that I love about the job that our events team does is that we tailor it—whether on the West Coast or down south, like we were in Dallas—but there is something unique and special that you’re here in a cold place, and the temperature is going to be record-setting, especially for this game. That’s what we created the whole game for—going back to the roots of hockey. Running outside, doesn’t matter how cold it was, just lacing them up and skating on a lake. And most of our players do that growing up. And so, when you talk about going back to the roots, there’s no finer place to go back to the roots than here in Minnesota, where this is a regular occurrence. Abbey Mastracco @AbbeyMastraccoWinter Classic stage looking very wintery ❄️❄️ <a href=”https://t.co/CGkymGkOZm”>pic.twitter.com/CGkymGkOZm</a>I’m sure the day of the game, when we’re playing in a stadium, hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of kids in Minnesota are playing on a lake somewhere. And you know, that’s what it’s all about. And so it is kind of cool and representative to play a Winter Classic here.
B/R: What kind of events and presentations can fans expect to see?SM: I think from the second you walk into the stadium, visually, if you’re from here, you’re going to get it because if you’ve played a pond hockey tournament on one of those many lakes, and the lakes have separate rinks … in the outfield, that’s what we’re recreating. So that’s the immediate visual, which will be really unique. We’ve never done more than two rinks in the environment before; we’re gonna have nine altogether. So that’s super cool. And then we said, let’s find the teams that best represent the hockey in Minnesota, whether it’s a youth team or a team that represents a social cause. Old, young, college—it didn’t matter. We sort of looked at this incredible cross-section and we invited them all to come.
Minnesota Wild @mnwildOne week… ☃️🏒<a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/mnwild?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#mnwild</a> | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/WinterClassic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#WinterClassic</a> <a href=”https://t.co/yYjvCZV5mV”>pic.twitter.com/yYjvCZV5mV</a>You want to entertain the people that are here, but it’s the person in Atlanta, it’s the person in New York, the person in Canada or the person somewhere in Europe, for instance, watching the game, who then might watch the game and by the end go, “I know a little more about Minnesota hockey.”(The groups skating on the outfield rinks include a team of wounded military veterans, an LGBTQ+ team, a team comprised of all girls of color, kids from the Wild’s Hockey Is For Me program and more. Other entertainment includes ice fishing holes, a lumberjack competition and an intermission performance by country music singer Thomas Rhett.)
B/R: The temperature is expected to get down to as low as minus-20 Celsius on Saturday. Is there any concern? SM: Let’s just face it: It’s gonna be cold. It’ll be the coldest game we’ve ever done. We’re pretty sure of that. We also have an obligation to keep our fans safe, so we’ll be setting up more medical areas, and there are many heating areas in this stadium. We want people to watch the game, but we also need people to be safe. The staff here is being educated to, if they see anybody or hear of anybody not feeling great, escort them to the warmest places in the building … and we’ve been there and done this before. So, we’re pretty confident.
There is a level where the players probably can’t play, but believe it or not, we’re not near there. So we’re on schedule, ready to go. But it’s gonna be cold. There’s no question.
B/R: This will be the first Winter Classic played at night. Why?SM: The pyrotechnics and lighting and fireworks sort of set the mood at night. It’s kind of cool. From a production standpoint, it gives you sort of more elements to work with. I think it’s pretty exciting that we’re in prime time. There’s just a visual piece to it that we don’t get during the day.Bruce Kluckhohn/NHLI via Getty Images
B/R: It’s impossible to ignore COVID right now. What do you think this game means to fans?SM: I think it means a lot. I think that since we’ve seen sports sort of coming back to be played in front of fans, it’s kind of made everybody feel like, “All right, we’re heading back in the right direction as a world and as a community.” Obviously, the last month has been tough for everybody. [Omicron] is out there. But we feel that because we’re outdoors, it’s so much safer. …There are sort of built-in pieces to this game that are really COVID-friendly. There ain’t nobody coming in here that’s not wearing a face covering. You’re going to try to stay so warm, that will protect fans from other fans. Sometimes, as we all know, in the arena, that’s not necessarily the case. People take their mask off, they don’t, they follow protocols until they get in the door. Here, we really feel like, you know, people are gonna want to stay very warm.(Note: Target Field does not have a vaccine mandate, and masks are not required in outdoor areas but are encouraged.)
B/R: Has there been any concern, and is there any ongoing concern, that this game might be canceled because of COVID-19?SM: In this world we’re living in, you can’t say 100 percent because you just don’t know. There are so many factors that go into everything, so you can’t really say, “Oh, of course.” But we never, ever thought [the game might be canceled]. We’ve always planned on doing this. We’ve been here for three weeks preparing. You always have to be ready, and you just never know. You have to be nimble. And you have to think, “Well, if we can’t do this, well, maybe we can do that.” You always do that. But given how many days we’ve got left, we’re pretty excited that we’ve got it. We feel like we’re getting there. But again, who knows what the next two or three days will bring.