For many of the players in the Winter Classic next week, including the Chicago Blackhawks' young star Patrick Kane, pictured left, this will be the first time they've played a meaningful hockey game outdoors.
For Scott Bowman, the legendary coach, it was just the opposite. All of his formative years were spent playing outside.
"I grew up in a small town, Verdun, Quebec," Bowman said. "As a young player, we didn't hit the inside [rink] until we got into high school. If you made the high-school team, then you'd play indoors. But before you got to high school, except for playoffs, we never played indoors.
"I used to put on my stuff in my house and skate to the park near where I lived and stay there all day. It was a small community, so we could skate on the streets because they didn't put any sand or salt down. You'd put a scarf around your face, bundle up, and that was it."
Bowman joined the Blackhawks last summer, after spending decades in the Detroit Red Wings' organization as a head coach, general manager and, in later years, as the club's senior adviser. Like everyone else, he's anticipating the Winter Classic, if only for its quirky appeal.
In the first NHL outdoor game in 2003, the players dealt with bitter cold temperatures at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. At last year's event in Buffalo, snow fell throughout the game. No one can accurately predict the 2009 conditions until much closer to puck drop.
"I'm sure the trainers will take care of the preparation," Bowman said. "They've had a few of these now and those guys all work pretty closely together. It's the unknown of the weather, but I think it's an exciting time for the players. There's certainly no chance they won't be excited to play."
Kane isn't going to pretend it's just a run-of-the-mill regular-season game, either.
"It's outdoors," the 20-year-old winger said. "It's at Wrigley Field. At some point, you're going to be thinking, okay, it's more than a hockey game. I mean, it is a hockey game — but there's a little more to it than that."
