Dave Paddington says maintaining a backyard rink is a full-time job.
Luckily he’s got some help, in the form of nine-year-old daughter Alexis, seven-year-old son Elliott and three-year-old son Ben.
“The kids are out here all the time and if they’re going to use it, then it’s worth the time and energy for me,” the Kamwood Drive resident said Sunday, celebrating being named the city’s best backyard rink by Home Depot.
“Quite frankly it becomes a bit of family time as well. The kids will come out and they’ll do their fair share of shoveling and helping flood. It’s something we do together.”
It’s also created a sense of community in the neighbourhood. Like the Staals, whose patriarch Henry famously built a backyard rink that propelled his four sons toward the National Hockey League, the Paddington’s is a gathering place for hockey players of all abilities.
On Sunday they had some special guest stop by for a good old fashioned game of outdoor shinny. Ryan Magill, Luke Judson, Trevor Gamache, captain Adam Sergerie and assistant coach Colin Zulianello of the Lakehead Thunderwolves hockey team were on the ice, teaching the next generation the tricks of the trade.
“There’s nothing better than having the kids out there playing around on the rink and it’s really nice to have the boys from the Thunderwolves here. They’re a big part of our community,” Paddington said.
Sergerie, whose university career ended with Friday night’s 3-2 loss to Waterloo, tossed on the jersey one last time – and though he’d rather be preparing for Windsor, he was happy to be back on skates and lending a helping hand.
“It feels like you’re a kid again. Looking back on your hockey career, growing up in Thunder Bay, this is what it’s all about, the outdoor rinks,” Sergerie said. “Time with your friends, late night on the rinks, all that stuff, it brings you right back to being a kid again.”
Judson, one of the top rookies in Canada this season, said it feels weird to be done with their season by mid-February, but if he can’t be fighting for a national title, Sunday’s outdoor session was a nice consolation.
“We’re happy we can do this, and we’ve got a pretty nice rink here to work with today.”
It’s the fifth year Paddington has built the rink, ringed with boards and topped with mesh where the glass would normally go, a protective barrier between the puck-covered ice surface and the family house.
Paddington said paying attention to the weather and being willing to work quickly are important factors in a successful backyard rink.
“We typically have the boards up in mid-October and then we just wait until it’s cold enough. When it’s cold enough then we’ll flood and when it’s time to shovel it’s time to shovel. There’s no (waiting) until tomorrow. You have to do it right away. When it’s time to flood, it’s time to flood. It’s a lot of work.”
