PHOENIX – Walking barefoot by the pool was a lesson learned the hard way for Arizona transplant Troy Mick.
“I didn't realize it doesn't really cool down here,” Mick said. “I had some blisters on the bottom of my feet.”
Mick is used to putting skates on his feet. The pricking sensation of slower circulation in freezing temperatures was more familiar than the burn of the desert sun. The Burnaby, British Columbia, native learned to skate at 2 years old on a frozen lake. His ice skills got him drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1988. Injuries led to a much longer career in coaching.
