The NHL and the Zamboni Company signed their initial cross-licensing agreement in 2000, and in the years since the well-known ice resurfacing machine has been turned into everything from diecasts and plush toys to Monopoly tokens and Pez dispensers. For Jim Haskins, NHL senior vice president/consumer products licensing, and Zamboni Brand Manager Paula Coony, who did that original deal more than two decades ago, their latest collaboration has been a long time coming.
Courtesy of the NHL
“Throughout all those years as we were bringing this assortment of products together, down in our hearts lived the idea for this particular product,” said Haskins, who has been with the league since 1992.
That product is the first battery-powered ride-on Zamboni toy for children ages 3-6. After years searching for the right manufacturer, the NHL and Zamboni teamed with Canada-based Kool Karz Playground to create the toy. The company specializes in realistic ride-on versions of popular luxury automobiles, including Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover, McLaren and Mercedes-Benz.
The four-wheeled replica ice resurfacer features several authentic touches, ranging from Zamboni’s signature horn sound to a snowflake emblem on the steering wheel that has been on the real machines for decades. There’s also a “snow collection tank” for storage, working headlights, rubber tires and a speaker offering Bluetooth, USB and SD card connectivity, along with a soundtrack of Zamboni noises.
The biggest difference between a real Zamboni machine and the toy — other than functionality, of course — is the seating position. While Zamboni drivers typically sit toward the back of the machine, incorporating that into the toy design proved to be a safety hazard.
“It had to be representative of what the kids would see when the real machine is on the ice, yet we couldn’t put a kid at the very back end of the thing and have it be tippy,” said Coony, who joined Zamboni in 1997. “So, they had to balance that out proportionally so that it was recognizable, it was safe and it was comfortable.”
The ride-on Zamboni, which comes adorned with NHL decals and includes stickers for all 32 NHL teams, will retail for $349.99 in the U.S. In addition to being available on the NHL, Zamboni and Kool Karz websites, the product will be carried at Macy’s, Target, Walmart, and at the NHL flagship store in New York. Major Canadian retailers include Best Buy, Home Depot, Indigo and Walmart.
