Al Sobotka

Al Sobotka (born October 16, 1953) is the building operations manager for Olympia Entertainment. His responsibilities include day-to-day operations at Joe Louis Arena. He was also involved in the operations of Cobo Arena until Olympia Entertainment relinquished management in 2011. Sobotka is known mostly for driving the Zamboni during Detroit Red Wings games for the past 30 years and for collecting the octopuses thrown on the ice during Red Wings playoff games. The official mascot of the Red Wings is named after Sobotka. Sobotka came in second with 97,261 votes in Zamboni News' 1999 Zamboni "Driver of the Year" Award.

Sobotka has been driving the Zamboni between periods at Joe Louis Arena for over 30 years. He is known for taking pride in his work, and he ensures that the arena's ice surface is of the highest quality. He said: "You know I'm particular, so if I see anything that's wrong -- a little chip of snow or something, you know, all that stuff matters a lot, 'cause a little snow can freeze and a guy hits it, never know what can happen, you know?" Brendan Shanahan said of Sobotka: "Al's very good and he takes it personally. I mean we see him a lot. Everybody knows Al. We're able to go out and make comments to him. He'll know when there's a tough night, you know, in the playoffs, or if it's a humid day and he'll respond accordingly. He'll ask the players after the game, 'What'd you think of the ice?'"

Detroit fans often arrive before game time to watch Sobotka prepare the ice for a game. Also, kids can compete to drive around with Sobotka between periods. They learn that driving a Zamboni is no simple task, and that ice preparation is both science and an art that can take years to perfect.

Sobotka started driving the Zamboni early in life, and when asked about his "dream job", he said:"It was just a job I got when I was in high school, and I kept at it, working in the maintenance department for a few years, [and] I still enjoy getting up in the morning. If you don't enjoy your work, it's hard getting up in the morning, you know?"

Sobotka is also famous for being the employee responsible for handling any octopuses thrown on the ice during a game. Sobotka will grab the octopus with his bare hands and swing it around his head. He typically receives an appreciative cheer from the crowd for this response.

...
Wikipedia