Rodrigues looking forward to 'fun experience' as Winter Classic comes to Florida

MIAMI -- A few hours after practice wrapped up, Evan Rodrigues drove home to pick up his family for a little Sunday drive.

The Florida Panthers forward was the first player to get a tour of the new hockey facility being built at loanDepot park in the Little Havana neighborhood of Miami where, come Friday night, his team will play in the first outdoor game in the state of Florida.

The Panthers and New York Rangers will take the ice in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic (8 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS) at the home of Major League Baseball’s Miami Marlins.

LoanDepot park has a retractable roof and large rolling windows which are currently shut to keep the cool air in the building. All will be open come game time on Friday night.

“This is cool, it’s going to be a fun experience and is even going to be cooler once the roof is open and the lights are on,” said Rodrigues, who was flanked by his two sons Grayson and Noah, both wearing miniature versions of their dad’s Winter Classic sweater.

Was he surprised when he first heard the Panthers were going to play an outdoor game in Miami?

“Not really. They did the one in Seattle [in 2024] with the roof closed so it seemed feasible. The weather doesn’t seem like it’s going to be harsh so hopefully the ice holds up. I think it will be a lot of fun.’’

Rodrigues is one of a handful of Florida players who have played in a Winter Classic in the past.

While with the Buffalo Sabres, Rodrigues played in the 2018 Winter Classic against the New York Rangers at Citi Field, home of baseball’s New York Mets.

Temperatures were in the 20s during the game with Rodrigues recalling that players could not wait until their shift was over so they could race back to their heated benches.

That will not be a problem here in Miami, where it was a comfortable 80 degrees on Sunday afternoon.

The benches in place at loanDepot park are heated, but “we’re pretty sure we won’t be turning those on this time,’’ Dean Matsuzaki, NHL Executive Vice President of Events, joked last week.

Now, although it was warm in South Florida on Sunday, a blast of winter air will be rolling through the region later this week.

Projected highs on Friday will be in the low 70s with it dropping perhaps into the 50s once the sun goes down.

It should be a beautiful night for hockey under the Miami sky.

“The first one I played in was in the afternoon, so this will be a little different,” Rodrigues said. “It was a lot colder. This is going to be good, maybe even perfect. I mean, 50-60 degrees? It’s going to be good. This is going to be nice, it’s going to feel like a regular rink temperature wise. What a great atmosphere. … It will be nice for [Grayson and Noah], too because they won’t be up there freezing. They’ll be nice and comfortable. And it will be a fun game to watch.”

On Sunday, Rodrigues got a tour of the facility, including the Panthers’ dressing room inside the Marlins’ clubhouse on the third base side of the ballpark.

The Panthers’ ice crew was working on the rink, layering the surface with the lines and Winter Classic logo expected to be put down by Monday.

And this was not Rodrigues’ first trip to the Miami ballpark.

On Sept. 6, 2024, he was part of the Marlins’ celebration of Florida’s 2024 Stanley Cup championship, throwing out the first pitch at the team’s "Panthers Night" before Miami played host to the Philadelphia Phillies.

Rodrigues fired home a high strike.

Grayson and Noah were there, too, loading up on Marlins gear for the occasion.

Those two are often spotted on the ice at the Panthers’ training facility in Fort Lauderdale and will join their dad and the rest of the families for a skate around at the ballpark on Thursday afternoon.

Rodrigues knows this week is going to be something special.

“It’s a cool experience not just for us, but for everyone’s families who are coming to town for this,” he said. “When you were younger, you always looked forward to watching these. Now, we get to play in one. It will be a great memory for everyone.”