PORTLAND, Maine — They call him the ‘admiral’ or the ‘King of the Ice.’
Jim Leo has been managing the Cross Insurance Arena facilities team for the last 30 years.
When he is not tucked away in his cold office in the beneath the arena, Jim Leo is out on the ice making sure his crew has it at the perfect consistency.
“We were always known as the best ice in the league,” Jim said.
That pride in perfection is what keeps Jim going. (The ice should always be kept around 22 degrees.)
It is also something the new Maine Mariners hockey team has quickly learned to value.
"It's huge. It's probably the biggest part about the game,” head coach Riley Armstrong said.
The thickness and quality of the ice determines how quickly his team is able to move and how the skates should be sharpened.
"I think they do a lot of work that really goes unnoticed,” Armstrong said.
Jim first started at the arena working security. A few years later, and by total chance, he became the one tasked with making it all run.
For him, that meant learning everything from the lights, to the ice, to concert setup on the fly.
The biggest learning curve: driving the Zamboni.
"It's like driving a Volkswagen bus from the back window,” Jim joked.
Jim and his small team are constantly changing the arena floor from a basketball court, to a concert stage, to an ice rink, and back again.
In some ways, it is what makes the gig so fun. (Ask Jim about the time he was hosting Disney on Ice and drove into a curtain.)
“Every day is different,” Leo said. "You get to meet people that you would never in a normal 9 to 5 job.”
So even when the job it gets a little cool, Jim will be there to crack a joke to get his crew riled up.
After all, he will be the first to tell you it is a team sport.
"It's not me alone. It’s me and my guys,” he said.