Breaking The ice

Just over a month ago, Guy Carbonneau traveled to Las Vegas for the 3ICE Inaugural Draft where he watched players, some who he knew but a lot who he didn’t, take the ice to display their hockey skillsets. From there, he drafted Team Carbonneau (which he is very happy with) and now that the 3ICE season is quickly approaching, the new head coach can’t wait for the puck to drop. 

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“I think everybody's been waiting for this thing to get going for the last few years now,” Carbonneau said. “When we talk to Craig, EJ, and even talking amongst ourselves to try to figure out how this thing is going to pan out is really hard. We’ve all seen 3-on-3 play, we've done it, but this format is pretty unique.” 

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While all 3ICE players have experienced 3-on-3 game play either in the NHL or at different professional levels throughout their hockey careers in the past, Carbonneau is excited to see how they are going to adjust to this new format throughout the season. As described by the three-time Stanley Cup champion, this new style consists of no faceoffs- other than to start a half- during a continuous eight minutes of play where even if one hits the back of the net, the play keeps going after just a quick 10-15 second pause to reset and restart. 

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“We put a lot of time in it and now the teams are done,” Carbonneau said. “Now we're all waiting for June 18th. We're all looking at the NHL now and we look at Tampa Bay. They're doing great, but we saw them last year, so we got a pretty good idea of what they were capable of doing. In our league, we don't know that yet.” 

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Being a Canadian himself, Carbonneau is looking forward to the fun and excitement surrounding the 3ICE tour stops in London, Ontario, and Quebec City. And while the first couple of weeks may be stressful for everybody involved, he knows the journey is only going to get better and better every day. 

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“Everybody was really up to the challenge, and to see it live on June 18th and every weekend after is going to be fun,” Carbonneau said. “We'll make adjustments to make it more fun as we go, but just to see the kids play, have fun on the ice, and compete every week, that’s the thing that I can't wait to see.”