Tampa Bay Lightning Girls

So before I start writing about the NHL draft combine, where 103 of the best draft eligible players go through physical, mental and psych tests which is currently underway...I thought I'd say a few words about having Ice Girls at hockey games. I keep seeing the 'Prep Classes' for the Lightning girls on the Lightning website, where they seem to have picked one of the ugliest in that really really fake sort of way as their promo girl and can't help but wonder what's the point?

The Lightning are offering 10 prep classes, once a week on Wednesdays so that local girls can try out to be an Ice Girl. Here's their promo video for their 'workouts'.

But what is the point of Ice Girls? Do they really add something to the game?

Cassie at One Timers and Deflections doesn't think so. Neither does the Amanda Kosier, wife of the sports blogger, Kyle Kosier, who originally wrote a rebuttal about hockey cheerleaders on Illegal Curve.

Maybe it's a southern US thing, that I just don't seem to understand the point of. Truthfully, I can't say that I've ever seen Ice Girls, since the rink I go to doesn't have them. Sure they have people that clean the ice, but not designated ice girls who don't look like they know what icing is.


Video from HockeyBay.com

As Cassie points out, there's really no place in the arena for Ice Girls to perform unless they go on the ice during the intermission. Do they stand in the aisles blocking people's view during the game? Personally, even if they were on during the intermission, don't you spend that time getting more beer anyways? I know I do, unless there are the little kids playing follow the leader hockey that I might stick around to watch.

I still don't get it and don't really feel that it adds the on ice product. But if having Ice Girls improves the product to the ticket holder, so be it. On the other hand, I don't need ice girls, I have 38 men playing hockey in front of me....