Cheerleaders (NHL-Ice Girls) Hockey

Cheerleaders

NHL Teams with Ice Girls

So, you’re at the game, and there is a break in the action. You’re thinking about having another beer when from nowhere, a crew of scantily clad, beautiful young women comes gliding out onto the ice with shovels in hand. At first, you pretend not to notice for fear of enraging your female companion, but you cannot resist the temptation to gaze at the spectacle gracing the ice before you.

The life of an NHL cheerleader NHL Teams with Ice Girls

The first time the NHL introduced ice girls to the fans was in Long Island, New York, in 2000-2001. Since that time, many teams have adopted the tradition. According to my research, the only teams that do not have Ice Girls are the Montreal Canadians and the Buffalo Sabres.

To gain employment as an Ice Girl, there are requirements other than looking good in skimpy clothing. Ice Girls must be competent skaters and have a genuine love of the game of hockey. They are required to interact with the fans, such as throwing t-shirts to the crowd or meet and greet at entrances and scraping the ice in between breaks in play; some do community work as well.

NHL cheerleaders earn $15 per hour and are entitled to perks on tickets. Although all NHL teams must have an “Ice Crew,” some teams have both men and women employed while others employ an all “Ice Girl” team. Conversely, the Oakland Raiderettes of the NFL make $125 per game, including four pre-season and 16 regular-season games that work out to be $2,500 a season, while the Oakland team mascot earns $40,000 or $2,500 per game.

NHL Teams with Ice Girls

Being an NHL cheerleader isn’t a glamorous job. The girls are expected to wear skimpy clothing when greeting fans at indoor and outdoor events, such as the Winter Classic. The girls complain that they are not allowed to wear jackets and that being exposed to the elements for as much as nine hours is torture. Many of the girls complain that they are treated very poorly. L.A. Kings Ice Girls complained that they are not allowed to be in the same room with NHL players, regardless of who is there first and cannot be seen eating while wearing team attire. Many girls complain of low wages working 10 to 30 hours a week and earning $150 to $450 per week while spending as much as $350 per month on cosmetics to ensure that they are always camera ready.