From Hamilton to Edmonton: Ice from NHL players' hometowns used to resurface rink for Stanley Cup final

Justin Chandler · CBC News

· Posted: Jun 04, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 11 minutes ago

When Darnell Nurse of the Edmonton Oilers takes to the crystal successful Rogers Arena Wednesday, a small portion of his hometown of Hamilton volition beryllium underfoot.

Rogers picked six Canadians connected the squad — including skipper Connor McDavid and guardant Evander Kane — and collected crystal from rinks wherever they grew up. Then they transported the crystal to Edmonton and utilized it to resurface the NHL crystal up of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final.

It's the archetypal clip the institution has done it — and a neat mode to springiness "home-ice advantage" to the Oilers, says Ryan Kinsella, rep manager for the league that plays astatine the Hamilton arena where Nurse's portion of crystal comes from. 

On Saturday successful Hamilton's Flamborough region, Rogers scraped the crystal astatine Harry Howell Twin-Pad Arena to honour Nurse.

The 30-year-old defender started playing astatine Bill Friday Lawfield Arena connected the Hamilton Mountain erstwhile helium was 4 years old, but that arena is closed for the summer, Rogers Communications spokesperson Victoria Ahearn said successful an email. 

Nurse is the member of nonrecreational women's hoops subordinate Kia Nurse and relative to nonrecreational hockey subordinate Sarah Nurse, who's besides from Hamilton. 

"I deliberation [this] gives a existent bully consciousness to the insignificant hockey players … knowing immoderate of their crystal that they play connected a regular ground is going to beryllium portion of the Stanley Cup," Kinsella told CBC Hamilton. 

Flamborough Hockey plays games astatine Harry Howell. Kinsella, who was calved successful adjacent Waterdown, played for the Flamborough Sabres and present has 3 boys who play hockey successful the community. 

Harry Howell is 1 of the city's busiest rinks, helium said, hosting hockey teams, coaches and a skating club. 

The crystal rink initiative will hopefully assistance animate kids to scope for their goals, Kinsella added. "Little initiatives similar this assistance to support those dreams alive."

Ice transported by thermos

Rogers worked with the rinks to scrape crystal into sealed thermoses. Those were transported to Edmonton where, connected Monday, they were poured into the crystal making vessel of the Rogers Place Zamboni, Ahearn said.

Other rinks Rogers took crystal from are:

• The Magna Centre successful Newmarket, Ont., wherever McDavid played for the York-Simcoe Express AAA enactment from astir property 10 to 15.

• The Rink successful Winnipeg, wherever Calvin Pickard practices during the off-season.

• North Shore Winter Club successful Vancouver, wherever Kane started playing insignificant hockey astatine 14.

• Burnaby Winter Club successful Burnaby, B.C., wherever Ryan Nugent-Hopkins played insignificant hockey from 2006 to 2008.

• Confederation Leisure Centre successful Edmonton, which is affiliated with the hockey programme Stuart Skinner played with portion successful precocious school.

"Hockey's biggest signifier should bespeak wherever the crippled genuinely begins — successful hometown hockey rinks crossed Canada," Terrie Tweddle, main marque and communications serviceman for Rogers said successful a statement.

He said the initiative, called This Is Our Ice, is astir celebrating "collective pridefulness successful Canada's crippled arsenic the Oilers play to bring location the Stanley Cup."

Other Hamilton-area players are competing for the cup, too

The Oilers are having a rematch with the Florida Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions who bushed them 2-1 successful Game 7 of the last past year.

Then, determination were 4 players successful the last with connections to the Hamilton-area: Nurse and Adam Henrique of the Oilers and Carter Verhaeghe and Brandon Montour with the Panthers. 

Verhaege brought the Stanley Cup location to Hamilton's Waterdown country successful August. In July, Montour — who present plays for the Seattle Kraken — brought it location to Six Nations. Henrique is from Brantford, Ont.

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When asked if he'd alternatively spot Nurse oregon Verhaeghe bring the cupful to Hamilton this year, Kinsella laughed. "It's a spot of a torn situation," helium said.

Kinsella has met Nurse's dad, and worked with immoderate of the aforesaid coaches arsenic him, but said helium besides appreciates Verhaege. 

Ultimately, Kinsella said, his mediate kid is simply a immense McDavid and Oilers fan, truthful Kinsella volition beryllium rooting for them. "Hopefully we tin spot a Canadian squad bring it home."