Report: Milan Arena to be completed three days before Olympic hockey begins

As if the narrative with the arena woes in Italy isn’t enough.

At the NHL Board of Governors meetings in Colorado Springs, NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly told a group of reporters that the Santa Giulia Ice Hockey Arena in Milan is set to be finished by Feb. 2 – just three days before the women’s hockey program is scheduled to begin.

Daly admitted that he’s trying to stay optimistic that the rink will be in top form once players take to the ice.

“Doesn’t seem to be anything insurmountable,” Daly said. “Don’t want to be pessimistic. Most of my information is on the positive side as opposed to negative side.”

Daly has been very adamant that the league will not allow players to compete at the Olympics if the arena isn’t completed. With the timeline of the rink being finished close to 72 hours before the women’s tournament gets underway, there’s no certainty that the ice will be in pristine condition, and certainly not up to NHL standards.

Daly noted that if the surface’s conditions are going to put players in danger, the NHL won’t let its athletes participate.

“If players feel the ice is unsafe, we are not going to play.”

The men’s tournament opens up on Feb. 11, with five games scheduled for the following day. At that point, there will be enough knowledge about whether the ice can withstand the wear and tear of multiple games in a day.

We also learned on Monday that the ice sheet won’t quite meet NHL regulations. The International Ice Hockey Federation released a statement, officially revealing that the rink will be just under 197-feet long and 85-feet wide. The shorter rink will only be noticed in the neutral zone, as the attacking zones are expected to be the same as what fans see on a nightly basis in North America.