Ice Technician
Nick Cotsilis, Jobing.com Arena
Nick Cotsilis is the Ice Technician at Jobing.com Arena, where Wayne Gretzsky coaches the Phoenix Coyotes NHL hockey team. He is in his second year with the team.
We put the ice in the day after Labor Day this year. What we do is we try to get the building as cold as possible, right around 56 degrees. We get the concrete to around 10 degrees. Then we lay water out with a golf cart using a spray system. We put a layer of water on the floor, then we start with the white paint. That process takes about two hours just to set it up and have it freeze.
Once the white paint is done we go back to a more clear. After that’s all frozen, we lay the lines down and start painting away. We go with the lines first and then move on to the logos. We use all different kinds of tools and paints. There’s a special paint that we use. There’s some special chemical that they use where you paint it and it freezes right away. I’d say there’s roughly ten colors or so for the different logos that we use.
We started lying water down at noon, and got done around eleven o’clock at night.
It’s the best job in the world. Totally my dream job. For sure. I love interacting with the players and getting good feedback from them. I love doing this job.
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