WASHINGTON, D.C. -- We’ve seen Dan Craig look a lot more ragged in the days leading up to the Winter Classic.
A lot.
Dark purple circles under the veteran icemaker's eyes.
Four or five days of stubble on his weather-creased face.
Maybe a little twitchier, agitated for want of better terms.
On this day, though, almost 72 hours before the puck is set to drop on the 2015 Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and the host Washington Capitals, Craig is almost zen.
Well, zen compared to seven years ago, when the NHL was preparing to host its first Winter Classic in Buffalo and no one knew what to expect -- Craig included.
Seven years later the Winter Classic is a brand, the NHL’s marquee regular season game, a ratings and revenues bonanza for the league. Craig has been the man at the center of all of them, the man responsible for making sure there was a surface on which to play the game, making sure this all didn’t blow up in the league’s face.
From Buffalo to Chicago to Boston to Pittsburgh to Philadelphia to Detroit/Ann Arbor, here are some thoughts from the world’s most famous ice-maker:
A Moment Frozen (Almost Literally) In Time
Craig recalls standing near ice level in Buffalo, his hands ice cold, wrapped in a towel to try and keep them from freezing off, looking up at the stands during that first Winter Classic. Someone snapped a picture at that moment and it hangs in his home, so he is reminded of it often. At that moment, seeing the stands full, the snow falling, maybe he didn’t envision the impact it would have on he and his family, but Craig knew he was part of something seminal.
"I remember that moment saying, 'this thing is going to get huge. Absolutely huge,'" Craig said.
What was it that made him feel that way?
Craig paused as though to suggest, "you were there, don’t you get it?"
“Seventy-six thousand screaming people," Craig recalled. "Nobody sitting down. It was a high tempo game. Both teams knew there were two points on the table. You just could feel the energy in the building.
“It was an event.”
One Foot In The Here And Now, One In The Future
We often talk about NHL general managers and how they must always balance what is happening now against building for the future. Craig has had to develop that mindset too. Gone are the days when he was a one-man show with his finger in every facet of the process, running on a few nervous hours of sleep every day with a small crew of workers ragged to make it work.
Last year, the NHL had six outdoor games spread across North America. Next year, sources tell ESPN.com there will be four.
Craig has over the years been building a team of colleagues to whom he can turn over the reins to other outdoor venues. He’s already looking down the road to young workers who may evolve into key decision-makers at future events. It’s no different than a GM who looks at his depth chart and says, "gee, I’m going to need a franchise goalie in the next two or three years and so on."
“I try to go in that general direction,” Craig explained when asked about the team-building analogy. “You can’t replace important parts year after year.”
Among those who have come to work for Craig is Devin O'Halloran, whose dad happens to be one of the NHL’s top referees. While the younger O’Halloran has gone back to officiating with hopes of following in his dad’s skates, there are plenty of hold-overs from year to year, each of whom understands not just the process but the role they will be asked to fulfill.
Uhm, kind of like a hockey team.
“I’m very proud of the group we’ve put together,” Craig said.
Ice May Not Be Thicker Than Blood, But It’s In The Blood
One of Craig’s right-hand men happens to be his son Mike. The two have pretty much split duties at the Winter Classic with Mike Craig handling the evening crew and Dan handling the day crew. In the past, there might be one crew running 16 hours. Now they can run two crews and cover 18 hours.
“You split them up and you have good coverage,” Craig explained.
On Jan. 1, Mike Craig will look after the ice itself while his father will spend most of the game in the remote refrigeration unit -- one of two multi-million dollar units the NHL currently owns. The splitting of responsibilities allows Dan Craig to focus on potential trouble spots as opposed to worry about every element of the game conditions, like hosing down the ice surface or worrying about slush or running the shovels if there’s snow.
There’s now a level of trust that exists between father and son and the rest of the crew, so there’s no second-guessing, just an ongoing dialogue. Craig, for instance, will go to his people and ask them what they think, what are they seeing down on the ice as they prepare for the Winter Classic.
Practice Makes Perfect
New Year’s Eve is traditionally team and family day at the Winter Classic. Both teams hold a practice to get used to the outdoor environment, and then the teams get some time to skate with their families on the ice. On those days you will find Craig rink side watching the players as they take their first loops around the ice and their first shots on net.
“I’m watching their expressions. I’m watching their body language. I’m watching their skates,” Craig explains.
It’s simple. If the players don’t have confidence that what they’re playing on is top-notch and at NHL standards, the game won’t be as good.
“I need all the players to have the confidence in that product [the ice],” Craig explained.
“Their reaction is going to tell me what to watch for the next day [during the actual game].”
He recalls watching the teams jump on the ice for practice at Wrigley Field in the second Winter Classic in 2009.
“Practice day was not a good day. Not a good day at all,” Craig recalled.
The cold had made the ice brittle and the practices were difficult for the players.
“I said to the boys, we’re in for a long night here,” Craig said.
But at about 9:30 that night, a front moved in and everything became calm and the ice conditions improved dramatically for the Jan. 1 game between Chicago and Detroit.
Didn’t stop Craig and his boys from being at the rink at 4:30 a.m.
“This is not an exhibition game,” he explained.
The points at stake are crucial, so no one can say, "oh, well, it’s just the Winter Classic or an outdoor game, so what if it’s not perfect."
It does matter and it matters deeply to both teams.
“You always have to have that mindset,” Craig said.
Lessons Learned
Each event is different, each locale is different. Each presents its own challenges, and in the end, their own lessons. Craig keeps track of these things, so that he can refer to what happened in the past and move swiftly to solve problems when they arise again.
The biggest lesson?
“Patience,” he said.
It’s nature, you can’t control it.
“I get pretty high strung,” Craig explained.
Cold? Nope.
It was cold in Buffalo that first year. But last year in Ann Arbor at the Michigan Stadium, now that was cold. Right?
Everyone’s been talking about that as this year’s event draws closer, Craig said. But he doesn’t remember it that way.
“I remember the snow. I don’t remember the cold at all. Not even a little bit,” he said.
The Future
No one ever asks Craig where the next Winter Classic should be. Or any of the outdoor games. But he hears the buzz and he’s looked at the maps and wondered just how far south they could take their ice-making trucks and still have top end NHL action.
When he does get the word on where the NHL will be headed, he studies weather patterns so he can advise on what the league might expect -- like in Boston where it’s expected next year’s Winter Classic will be played, or in Denver or Minnesota or Winnipeg, all of which are believed to be in line to host outdoor games in 2016.
As for the idea of outdoor games and specifically the Winter Classic becoming passé, Craig doesn’t think so.
“I can’t see a reason not to do these,” he said.
He imagines a strong 15-year run, which would mean we’re not even at the mid-point if Craig is right.
“When you see the amount of people that come into these events and the viewership, it’s like I tell my guys, this isn’t going away anytime soon,” Craig said.
Favorite Moment?
OK, an unfair question. It’s like asking a dad which of his kids he likes the best. Craig loves them all.
But there is a moment that always makes it worthwhile, that moment when the players step out into that vast space -- whether it’s at Fenway Park in Boston or Wrigley Field in Chicago or Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia -- and look up at the sky and ice, and it hits them they’re going to be playing a game there.
It will be the same when the players skate out for practice on Dec. 31, and it will be brought home when the stands are filled with 43,000 fans on Jan. 1.
“That’s every year,” Craig said.