Steinbach resident and hockey enthusiast Tyson Kehler has had his backyard rink set up since November 1st in anticipation of the coming cold weather.

For the past 20 years, Kehler says there has been a tradition in his family of setting up a backyard skating rink as early as October so he can practice shooting pucks the moment water freezes to solid ice. “Often it hasn’t even snowed yet and we get ice and I’m skating already,” comments Kehler.

“We’ve been doing this every year for as long as I can remember. “My dad’s been teaching me the process and maybe I’ll take over one day and build it myself.”

Though Kehler’s dad, who is the Chaplain of the Steinbach Pistons, typically builds the rink by himself, this year he had three members of his hockey team come down to help fasten the boards together. After the frame was in place, Kehler notes they followed a fairly simple process of laying down a plastic tarp and covering it in water.

Kehler views the colder-than-average temperatures forecasted for the coming days as good news, saying: “If the temperature stays around -10 overnight and -4 during the day, the rink may be usable by this weekend.”