From Men's Journal's Evan Grossman:

The New York Islanders, who are moving from their longtime home in Nassau Country into their new spot at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn this summer, are looking for a new Zamboni driver. And while the job remains open, Anderson is one of many whose resumes will conveniently disappear. Because aside from driving under the influence, crashing a Zamboni into the boards is basically the worst thing you can do while operating one.

"That would be number one," says Dan Craig, the NHL's senior director of facilities, who's toughest annual task if resurfacing the ice during the league's outdoor Winter Classic. "People don't realize how tough it is to drive in a straight line for 200 feet," he says. "And when you don't drive in a straight line, I'm pretty sure there are fans all over the league that will let you know about it."

A position that requires unique skill honed through years of practice, the Islanders aren't going to hire a random fool from Flatbush to joyride on the Zamboni between periods of home games. This is a task that requires mechanical precision, a steady hand, and a laser focus. Same as you wouldn't put a scalpel in the hands of someone with zero medical training, nobody's tossing the keys to the Zamboni to an amateur.

"In essence, you almost have to be a minor engineer," says Craig, who first learned how to operate a Zamboni "decades ago" in Edmonton, where they don't let anyone near the Oilers home ice until they've had the proper training.

Continued...