"Game Day Experience" Equipment Managers Create Hockey Art Meant to Be Destroyed

When hockey starts again in the fall, do your eyes a favor and arrive to the game early enough for warmups. Before the players hit the ice, they will hit a couple dozen practice pucks onto the ice.

Moments earlier, these pucks had been stacked neatly or precariously on the ledge of the home bench by the creative hands of the team's equipment manager. Some call it "Puck Art," some call it chaos, but It's the only time you'll see people cheer for art to be destroyed.

Every team has its own puck artist. For the WHL Everett Silvertips, it's Jackson Rajcic.

The 18-year-old assistant equipment manager is also the team's video/statistics assistant. Rajcic, a hockey player himself, has been testing out puck art designs since he was a kid. His artistic side reached new heights in 2023, with the creation of his first pyramid puck sculpture he named the "Tips Tower".

Rajcic's favorite design was the breast cancer ribbon created specially for the Silvertips' "Pink the Rink" theme night. The yearly event raises funds and awareness for breast cancer patients, and honors both survivors and those lost to the disease.

Most artists would be upset if moments after creating a masterpiece it was smashed to pieces. Not Rajcic. He enjoys seeing it. Based on the screams and cheers from fans watching closely from behind the glass, they enjoy it too!

He also enjoys the process, saying: "Its almost like a routine for all of us. I come out and build it at the same time every day, and the guys get to knock it down at the same time every day. They’re always asking me what I’m going to build next."

Rajcic says the hardest part about creating his puck art is "Making sure the pucks don't fall over before the players go out for warmups. Keeping the weight balanced and keeping it straight takes the most work and time."

In addition to sculptures and towers, Rajcic's nimble fingers can create player numbers and names. Check out his tribute to former Silvertips forward Jackson Berezowski, created for his bobblehead night.

As for the actual pucks, most teams have separate ones for warmups and those used during an actual game. If you look closely at Rajcic's work, you can see the words "Official Game Puck - Warmups Round" stamped around the team logo.

Rajcic uses warm pucks, unlike the fresh-from-the-reezer pucks used during games. If you're thinking, "Pucks in the freezer?" Yes, that's where they're stored, for a scientific reason. Hockey pucks are made of vulcanized rubber. Freezing them changes their chemistry, making them bounce less and improving the glide on the ice.

Rajcic's favorite thing about hockey is, "The pace of play and the (mental) quickness you need to have to make decisions. It's way different than any other sport."

You could say the same about creating puck art. What will Rajcic come up with next season? Guess we will have to wait and see in the fall.