In a southwest suburb of Chicago, a dad named Chris Vengyl took being a “cool hockey dad” to the next level, building his son a massive, 6750 sq. foot ice rink in their backyard.
The rink is 135 by 50 feet (for a little perspective, a regulation-sized NHL rink is 200 by 85 feet). The rink isn’t just a small frozen pond in the backyard…it has full height boards, a warming shed, and a lighting system.
Vengyl’s son Nick started playing hockey four years ago when he was eight years old. Chris told ABC 7, “He decided one day that he wanted to skate so we got him on the ice and he fell in love with it,” Vengyl said.
Seeing his son’s passion and the amount of time his son gets on the ice, he decided to build a rink in his backyard. He thought it would get his son to enjoy the sport more.
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In case you were wondering, yes. The rink is quite popular in the neighborhood. According to Vengyl, there are dozens of kids in the neighborhood that enjoy the free ice time. Vengyl even bought some extra pairs of skates for the neighbors that don’t have their own and want to skate. According to neighbors and friends, it’s a revolving door even at night for any kid that wants to lace up for a bit.
While Nick continues to practice hard in the backyard, he joins the likes of Toronto Maple Leafs’ Patrick Marleau, who also had a contractor install a rink in the yard of his home. Marleau’s backyard rink comes complete with boards, blue lines and of course, the Maple Leafs logo at center ice.
The Marleau Brothers rink! @SanJoseSharks @NBCSAuthentic @MapleLeafs pic.twitter.com/LI3ThTo0dl
— Randy Hahn (@sharkvoice) January 5, 2018
Headline photo: ABC 7
