By Pearl Allison Lo

The day before, the NHL and SAP introduced their new website http://www.nhl.com/stats during the NHL Inovation Event and mentioned four phases, phase two starting in April. There was talk about enhanced stats and making the playoffs, making more selective visualizations, advanced filters, predictions, new metrics and historical data, digitizing handwritten game sheets. Eddie Olczyk moderated before a well represented audience of about 75 people. Present as well was NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, Quentin Clark, SAP Chief Technology Officer and others.

The San Jose Sharks were the first team to practice and afterwards there was a family and friends skate before they talked to the media in the 49ers locker room.

Tommy Wingels

Impression on the reinvented stadium? “Yeah, I’m at a loss of words for it, from following all the stuff on social media, to coming here, and seeing it firsthand…it’s really, really cool.”

Stop talking about California as a nontraditional hockey market? The fact that they’re moving American hockey league teams here… Hockey’s really taking off here and I think it’s a testament to the Sharks, Ducks, the Kings, what they’ve done with their youth programs and getting young kids involved… It’s great for the sport.”

Do you need to re-energize your fan base the way the past year’s gone? “I think every game is an opportunity to do that…but a great environment to show what kind of team we are.”

How do you balance the importance of the game with enjoying the expierience as a whole? “I think you try to enjoy it with your friends and family and the whole experience on days like today, maybe warm-ups tomorrow, but once the puck drops, you switch to a more business-like mentality.”

Odd instead of seeing the arena roof, you’re seeing the sky? “Yeah, it’s a different atmosphere. I think it’ll be a much better atmosphere tomorrow. You look up, you see all the advertisements, you see the beautiful stadium here, but when it’s filled with hopefully, 70,000 Sharks fans, no LA fans…”

First reaction? “Just kind of some shock and awe of how cool this experience is going to be… From the moment we were announced to host the game, we’ve had a lot of thoughts and countdowns…so to get out here today and get the jitters out, you really enjoy the experience with your friends and family. It’s really cool and it’s something that’ll be a memory for our whole life.”

About the eye black most of the team was sporting…Is the eye black to reduce the glare or is it to make you look tougher? “It’s for the glare…Talking to guys who put on these games before, they recommend using it, so you got to go with what the experts are saying…He said, even more so, with the stadium lights…We’ll try it out, maybe decide to take it off after warmups, maybe you add more. It’ll be a gametime kind of thing.”

The warmest skate ever with full gear on? “Absolutely…you see the coaches sweating from running the practice, that says it all right there…I’d rather be warm than having to put on the extra  layers.”

Make it harder to play? “Your breathing’s different…and the recovery’s different.”

About Levi’s, “…to see it and to play a game in it, is unbelievable, you know you see some of the Niners trainers here and walk around, and  see where certain players sit it’s really cool. It’s the home you share with another athlete in the Bay Area…”

Matt Nieto

On Levi’s, “Its such a nice stadium, you know those HD screens, they’re huge. It’s a really nice arena. We got a nice setup here in the locker room and stuff so it’s been great.”

How excited to be on the ice? “Everyone was real excited. We bused over from the practice rink. That’s probably the most fun all of us have had in a long time at a practice. It’s pretty crazy. Everyone’s going to have a lot of fun. The fans’ll enjoy it…”

As a California kid, how unbelievable is it to have an outdoor game in your home state?” It’s pretty crazy. It’s going to be a good experience for me and a lot of other guys here…there’s going to be a ton of fans here. I just can’t wait for tomorrow.”

Before the game tomorrow, Spectator Plaza will be the place to be from 4p to 7p. As the NHL put it, The pre-game hockey and entertainment festival for ticketed fans will extend the celebration of the 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ with live musical performances; interactive hockey-themed attractions, prizes and giveaways; food and beverages; and retail tents with an extensive selection of officially-licensed 2015 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series™ merchandise and collectibles.

With the win over the Dallas Stars Thursday, San Jose is now tied with Calgary, one point behind Vancouver and two points ahead of the Kings.