Watch Crews Get Xcel Energy Center Ice Ready for Season

The Minnesota Wild's NHL season doesn't start until October, but the ice is already ready already at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

I've always wondered just what was involved in maintaining a regulation NHL ice rink, and this article in the St. Paul Pioneer Press Wednesday explained all that goes into creating that rink on which the Wild will skate this season. It was pretty interesting.

For instance, did you know it takes roughly 10,000 gallons of St. Paul tap water to create the rink the Wild will skate on each season?

Or did you know that once the crew finishes creating the rink -- from painting the initial ice white, to painting the lines and logos on the white background, to finally flooding the rink to the NHL regulation 1.25-inch thickness -- that it remains there all season long?

That's right, it does. For all the other events at the X -- like concerts, basketball games or other events -- there's a special cover installed. "We cover it with an insulated deck and everything goes up on top of that,” Xcel Energy Center operations manager Travis Larson said in the story.

The story said it takes roughly 36 to 48 hours for the entire process, so I guess they really don't want to have to do that more than once a year. The Wild will hold their home opener this year on October 15th against the Winnipeg Jets.

Here's a time-lapse video that shows how it's done...