The longtime manager reflects on his time at
Minnesota’s largest hockey facility

If you’ve been around hockey in Minnesota the past three decades, you have probably stepped foot inside the Super Rink in Blaine. And if you’ve stepped foot in the Super Rink, you’ve probably seen or met Pete Carlson.

Carlson retired earlier this year from his time as manager of the Super Rink where he spent the past 29 years running the state’s largest hockey facility.

LPH chatted with Carlson about his time at the Super Rink and his next venture, which happens to involve a certain sport played on ice.

LPH: How did you land in this business and at the Super Rink?

Carlson: My first hockey job was in 1988 as the Assistant High School Hockey Coach for Crosby Ironton Atkin. That same year, Steve Jensen owner of Heartland Hockey Camp saw me coach and approached me to be a coach at the camp.  I started working at Heartland Hockey Camp in Deerwood, MN for the next seven summers.

While attending Winona State University (1998-91), I was the Assistant Hockey Coach at Winona High School and also worked at the Bud King Ice Arena. After college, I was the Head Hockey Coach at Annandale and worked at the Buffalo Civic Center.

In 1994, we moved to Madison, Wisconsin, and I was the first manager of the Eagles Nest Ice Rink in Verona, WI.  It was in 1997 that I opened Let’s Play Hockey and saw the two-page center spread about the Super Rink being built and needing a manager.

I took a chance and applied. I was hired as the manager of the Super Rink at the National Sports Center and began in June, 1997.

LPH: Tell me about your hockey experience as a kid growing up in Minny.

Carlson: Not everyone knows this, but I grew up in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  I played youth hockey, skating on outdoor rinks. Hobbs Ice Rink was built in 1975 when I was eight.  I remember always being by the Zamboni to help shovel off snow and water.

Walley Ackervick was the manager, and he always let me help.  Maybe that is why I was a better ice rink manager than a hockey player. I played three years of high school hockey at Eau Claire North.  In 1996, I was asked to play at Brainerd Jr. College for the Red Raiders.

Going to that school became the best decision of my life.

LPH:  You’ve been at the Super Rink since its inception, tell me about what that was like when it was built and opened to the public, and the excitement around it.

Carlson: When I think back to that time, I remember thinking that four sheets under one roof was crazy.  How are we going to fill all these sheets of ice 12 months per year?

As the plan evolved…the staff was trained, the building was prepared, and customers were scheduled.  Oddly enough, the Super Rink was like other buildings. Yes, we had to quadruple our efforts, but we approached it as the customer could only be on one rink. That one rink may be a single sheet or with multiple sheets, but ultimately, the customer can only be on one rink at a time.

I truly feel that bringing the thought and planning process down to that is why we had so much success.

LPH: What were your job duties at the beginning, and did they change over the years?

Carlson: My job certainly changed over the years, but the core duties remain the same: continue to fill the rinks with ice sales, offer great customer service, and provide a clean and well-maintained building.  My job changed when we added four more sheets in 2006.

I was working more closely with customers and creating more programs to keep the rinks sold. That also brought more customers and spectators to the building.

The rink is showing its age a bit.  We all know that. The good news is that there is a 30-million-dollar renovation coming to the Super Rink soon.  I was really looking forward to leading that project and seeing the deserved upgrades to the building.

LPH: What were some of the biggest challenges of being in charge of so many sheets of ice?

Carlson: To put it in perspective, a busy single ice sheet will sell around 2,500 of ice per year.  The Super Rink was tasked with selling 18,000 hours of ice per year.  It took a team effort to make that happen year after year.  It also meant we could not do it alone, so the NSC Ice Sports Programming Department was formed.  This department basically created programs during the months that were not being requested by other customers.

We worked closely with USA Hockey and Minnesota Hockey by registering our adult hockey league. We worked closely with US Figure Skating and the Ice Sports Industry (ISI) to build our figure skating department.  We worked closely with the local youth hockey associations and high schools in our area.

Finally, we had to work with and accept private hockey businesses that ran April through September.  By being open to this combination of ice sports programming groups, the Super Rink succeeded right away.

I am proud to say that in the past 29 years, I have been part of over 400,000 hours of ice sales at the Super Rink.

LPH: What were some of the significant changes you oversaw over the years? 

Carlson: The first thing is how good the girls’ game has become. This is, by far, the largest change.

The next largest change is how off-season hockey is offered. There is now something for everyone.  If you want to skate one week or 22 weeks, you can find a program, and I say this in a positive way.  The rinks need different customers and different programs to help them fill all their ice sales needs for 12 months.

LPH: Who are some other famous people you have met in your role there and what do you remember about those experiences? Does anybody stand out?

Carlson: The most famous was meeting Herb Brooks.  Herb was a board member of the MASC.  When I found out Herb was going to be at the NSC, I always made it over to where he was going to be.

I have met so many great people at the Super Rink, I can’t name them all.

LPH: You must have a couple fun stories you can share with us?

Carlson: In 1998, I was fortunate to be working on a new program called NSC Hockey Academy.  The goal was to create one-week hockey schools for the summer of 1999.  These programs would help us sell ice during the summer months.  It was a challenging task because we had to sell four sheets of ice, not just one sheet, for those three months.

The first meeting was with our NSC Ice Sports Team, Paul Erickson, Randy Peake, and Dave Druk.  Just as we were getting started, the A-Team arrived.  Herb Brooks, Larry Hendrickson, Ted Brill, and Marv Jordy.  At that point, I knew I was working at a very special place. It was something I will never forget.

LPH: After 35 years, what will you miss the most? 

Carlson: Of course, the staff at the NSC and all the other rink staff around the country.  It is a very close group of people.  I have formed many friendships that I can only hope continue.  But there is nothing better than creating a program and seeing kids sign up, participate, learn hockey skills, and then continue in that program year after year.  Being at the Super Rink for 29 years, I was able to be part of exactly that with countless programs.

LPH: Tell us what the next chapter is for you.

Carlson: I am having a full circle moment. I will be working for a hockey company called 200×85.  They recently purchased Heartland Hockey Camp, where I will be the Executive Director.  Steve sadly passed away a few years ago. His wife, Sandy, has kept Heartland going, and this will be her last year at the camp. I am very excited to go back to Heartland and continue what Steve and Sandy have built.  I am looking forward to having Heartland continue to be the best residency hockey camp in the country.

LPH: Any additional comments?

Carlson: I want to thank my mom and dad (Kathy and Dick) for their support in whatever I wanted to do. My wife, Jennifer, for our 33 years of marriage, and supporting me while I worked in this crazy business.  My son Tait (29) and daughter Claire (27) for following me to the rink, to watch me work, meet a customer, start an event, play hockey, and allowing me to watch them grow up at the rink, and become great adults.