‘Zamboni Zeus’ Travis Larson Celebrates 1,000 games as Minnesota Wild’s ice master

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – He’s been called the Minnesota Wild’s Zamboni Zeus, Rink Rat, but Travis Laron’s official title is Senior Manager of Ice Operations.  He’s been laying down layers of ice at the Xcel Energy Center since the building opened in 2000.

“I’ve only not been in the building for 10 games in 24 years,” says Larson. 

Larson only missed those 10 games because he was helping construct rinks for outdoor face-offs and working the 2002 Olympics.

“I tell my staff, everything’s got to be perfect. It is never going to be perfect, but we try the best we can,” Larson told FOX 9 during an interview back in 2016. 

Larson recently hit a milestone by seeing his 1,000th Wild game. Recently, sitting down with us recalls his very first rink when he was about 9-years-old.

“Did you grow up playing hockey?” FOX 9’s Leah Beno asks.

“No. I knew I was not coordinated enough for that,” said Larson. “So I actually was one of those kids that made a rink in my backyard and invited everybody over. It was kind of one of those fun deals.”

From there, Larson got a job and learned to drive a Zamboni at the Burnsville Ice Center. Larson worked part-time at a few rinks, and eventually earned his associate degree in arena and recreational facility management. 

In charge of the fourth top-rated ice in the NHL, Larson has played a solid role in the operations and commitment to be more environmentally responsible. Similar to many smaller arenas, he’s helped lead technology changes for cleaner air for fans, updates to the chiller plant and how it processes water straight out of the Mississippi and, most recently, two new electric Zambonis, which use less water. 

All of this helped earn Larson the Wild Sustainability Hero Award, and make the Wild the fifth NHL team to trade diesel fuel for plugin ice makers.

“There are two booms and that will spray a fine mist of water, which will actually help out ice temps,” said Larson. “So it will actually freeze faster, which will create the faster, denser sheet of ice.”

As a long-time board member of the Minnesota Ice Arena Managers Association, Laron reminds us rinks in every corner of the state are always looking for people willing to take the wheel.

“There’s a shortage of Zamboni drivers. I mean everybody thinks it’s just driving the Zamboni, but you’re also sweeping and cleaning restrooms and everything else in between and sharpening skates and doing that. And then, every hour and 15 minutes, you get a break to go drive the machine, and you got your own time.”

Larson hopes others who embrace the cold and strive for that ideal 22 degrees, realize this is a career worth considering.

“It’s been fun, and it’s been a blur, said Larson. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”