This story was excerpted from Christina De Nicola's Marlins Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
MIAMI – loanDepot park was the center of the hockey world on Friday night, when it hosted the NHL Winter Classic between the Florida Panthers and the New York Rangers. It was a historic occasion, as the outdoor event was held in the Sunshine State for the first time.
A handful of Marlins -- Clayton McCullough, Xavier Edwards, Anthony Bender, Griffin Conine and Tyler Phillips -- jumped at the opportunity to experience a vantage point different from what they’re used to at the ballpark. Rather than take the field, they sat in the stands with fans to cheer on the two-time reigning Stanley Cup-champion Panthers. The sold-out crowd reminded them of the electric atmosphere of the Yankees-Marlins series in August.
Edwards and Conine even got to watch the third period from behind the glass while sporting Winter Classic Panthers jerseys. It was surreal seeing second base, where Edwards plays, replaced by a rink. Conine’s outfield was decorated to resemble a beach on the Panthers’ side and snow and ice on the Rangers’ side.
“Really cool,” Edwards said. “I didn't know how it was going to turn out, but yesterday, with the content stuff, it was definitely chilly by the ice. And today, with the roof open, I thought maybe it'd be a little warmer than it was, but by the ice, it was still really cold. So, pretty cool they pulled this off with a sold-out crowd. Rink turned out great. Then we got to sit by the ice the last period. So that was sick, for sure. Cool experience.”
Conine, who attended a couple of Panthers playoff games and lives near the arena, hoped to attend a few more games this month before reporting for Spring Training in February. He will also be dialed in for the Winter Olympics, when many of the Panthers compete next month in Milan, Italy.
“It was awesome,” Conine said. “It's cool to see them doing stuff in the park. The tennis exhibition match was really cool. This is a level up, just because it actually counts, and it's [the] Panthers, so we have that connection. Getting to sit around the glass was super cool. Way more respect for hockey now, seeing it up close, such a physical sport.”
The Marlins’ contingent also watched Thursday’s practice up close and was quick to point out that injured Panthers stars Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk had taken the ice. All were in agreement that while hitting a baseball might be the toughest thing to do in sports, hockey is the most difficult to play when considering skating.
There was also time for the Fish and Cats to interact. Panthers centers Evan Rodrigues, Eetu Luostarinen and Luke Kunin, along with the Marlins, tried throwing a baseball with their non-dominant hand. Kunin and Luostarinen were presented with Winter Classic-designed bats. Edwards swapped jerseys with his favorite player, Panthers defenseman Seth Jones.
“A lot bigger, especially him,” Edwards said. “He's like 6’4”, looks like 6’6” with his skates. He’s massive.”
Ever the manager, McCullough kept an eye on the stats, from skate speed to time on ice. He marveled at the Panthers’ endurance over the past three years thanks to deep playoff runs.
“We were right on the rink,” McCullough said. “Both teams come out, they're doing their warmup skate, and they made skating look really easy, how smooth they are, and big. And then, watching them flip shots, banging pucks into the fiberglass. So we were right there, watching them skate, and our kids had never been before, so to be that close, and I think you take for granted you stand on a Major League field every day and watch batting practice, people around there. It was, I guess, kind of the same thing, right?
“But watching these guys skate around, and how their warmup was, and the precision to it. The game was unbelievable. Watching the warmups and being that close to see them skate and the skill level they have was probably the highlight for me. They just can stop on a dime. They're skating backward. They're spinning. I tried to skate today. I can tell you, it wasn't nearly as graceful as the NHL players were, and I already had a ton of respect for them, but a newfound respect for how skilled they are.”