Five weird things that you’ll find at an old school hockey rink

I can smell the scalding instant coffee from the vending machine already.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
Five weird things that you’ll find at an old school hockey rink
BarDown

We're all starving for hockey these days. There's no NHL hockey. No junior hockey. No AHL hockey. No ECHL hockey. No KHL hockey. Hell, you can't even go down to your local rink and watch a peewee game these days. But you know what? When they re-open those old school rinks across Canada and the United States, do yourself a favor and head down for some much needed nostalgia.

But first, a primer. Check out some of these things that you'll find at every old school rink across North America, courtesy of our friends as BarDown:



1) Computer Controlled Skate Sharpening

This one was really a last minute resort. When the skate shop was closed, it was the only way to get the kinks out of the blades. Sure, it was probably worse than using a stone in the room, and your skates would still be noticeably dull on the ice. But it was a huge part of so many player’s youth.

Even the design is still awesome!


2) PLINK-O

Every kid who hung out at a community hockey rink should know this one. Pull the handle back and let that jawbreaker fly, baby! The candy may not have been good for you tongue but at least you had a chance to win a bouncy ball.

Right?

 

3) Slush Puppies

Take us back… take us back! We know they’re still kicking around today but there was just something about hammering one at a local rink. Mixing blue and red was always a great option, but it needed a shocker for that sour kick.

What was a Slush Puppy without shocker for crying out loud!!!!

 

4) Tiny dressing rooms

There was nothing more annoying than showing up to a tiny dressing room but looking back, they really did create some of the best memories. What better way to get to know your teammates than cramming 15-20 of them in a tiny room together? The bathrooms were usually pretty gross in those ones, too…

 

5) Rink heaters

Some rinks were just wayyyyyyy colder than others and needed these to keep parents in the stands. All of the parents would usually crowd around in the same spot as they cheered their kids on and as a player, it couldn’t have looked weirder to see. They saved a lot of good fingers out there and rinks just aren’t as cold as they used to be.

If you want a look at what this all looked like, here it is in video form. What do you miss most from your childhood rink?


I gotta say though... they're missing a big one here:


Source: BarDown