Meet Wayne Pansegrau, the ‘Doctor of Ice’
By Amy Belleman
Let me introduce you to Wayne Pansegrau – doctor of ice.
Yep, that’s right, Pansegrau is an integral part of making the hockey magic happen and chances are, you don’t even notice him.
He doesn’t walk out with the team coaches. His name isn’t broadcast over the PA. In fact, probably the only way you’ll see Pansegrau is if you spot him shooting a hand-held infrared sensor at the ice during breaks in play.
But Pansegrau’s job is critical to having good ice to play on.
While you’re enjoying the thrill of the game, Pansegrau is checking things like arena air temperatures, humidity, ice temps and water quality.
“There is actually quite a bit of science,” he said. “Everything has to kind of work together ultimately to have good quality ice.”
Weeks before the 2024 Memorial Cup presented by Dow came to Saginaw, Pansegrau flew in from his home in Mexico to help arena staff make the best ice they possibly could.
Pansegrau, owner of Top Shelf Arena Services based in Kelowna, B.C., said Saginaw’s water quality is “not bad, but it’s not great either.”
He said impurities in the water – which are basically metals – make the water harder to freeze and metal skates can find friction in the metal particulates that gather on top of the ice impeding players from skating their best.
Pansegrau says the Zamboni’s shave the ice to help remove the metal impurities along the ice surface.
An important fact to note, he said, is the purer the water, the clearer the ice.
Contrary to what some might believe, when the ice sheet is originally poured, it isn’t as simple as flooding the rink with water. That might work great for an outdoor rink in cold temps but making arena ice requires attention to detail.
Pansegrau says it’s important to know how cold air temperature is above the ice, but one also needs to know how cold the concrete base is as well.
“You’re fighting a battle from both sides,” he said.
Here’s where it gets tricky. If the ice is too hot, it melts and gets slushy. But, likewise, if the ice is too cold, it will develop too much “snow” on top and become more susceptible to breaking.
That’s why, Pansegrau says, it’s ideal to have the concrete base under the ice and the top of the ice measure within 2-3 degrees.
“You don’t want to have too much of a difference there,” he said. “You want to have that balance.”
When they put the ice in for the Memorial Cup, they created thin sheets of ice by repeatedly spraying a fine mist of water over the concrete base. The first couple layers will be the bond that adheres to the concrete. They will then paint the ice white, Pansegrau said, before sealing in another couple layers of clear ice and then adding the hockey markings – or lines – on the ice.
“The building process can take anywhere from three to five days,” Pansegrau said.
One inch of ice is 10,000 gallons of water, he said. The goal is to have ice that’s an 1¼ to 1½ inches thick.
“It’s a lot of water,” he said.
Finally, the arena staff will add the textile logos that show the Memorial Cup logo and event sponsors.
Pansegrau, who grew up in Canada, said he never dreamed this would be his career. He started out working in landscaping. A friend later invited him to come work at a local hockey arena and his hockey job and experience just grew from there.
“I kind of stumbled into it I guess,” he said.
Today, Pansegrau works as a hockey ice consultant traveling to different arenas, assessing their ice and helping them improve their ice quality.
He loves his job – and the Memorial Cup.
“It’s a pretty interesting and fun industry to be in. I do love what I do,” he said. “This will be my ninth Memorial Cup I’ve done with the CHL. It’s a great event. It’s doesn’t even feel like work…It’s a fantastic job that I have.”
