DENVER — Emma Burt knows there's a real science to quiet work.
Two hours before a playoff game at Ball Arena in Denver, she makes sure the net is secure and the ice is ready for the Colorado Avalanche.
"They're not very flexible, but enough force they'll fold," Burt said, referring to the mooring pegs that hold the net on.
As a senior member of the Colorado Avalanche Ice Patrol, Burt is part of a team of skaters who take shovels onto the ice during games.
"We go out and shovel during the games to maintain the ice to NHL standards and make sure it's clear and fast for the players during the game," Burt said.
She is also learning to drive the Zamboni.
"I am learning how to maintain the ice — slowly getting trained on driving the Zamboni," Burt said.
But the ice is only half of her world.
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Just hours after leaving the Avalanche, she pulls up in a snowstorm to her day job at Children's Hospital Colorado, where she sees her first patient at 8 a.m. before heading into clinic.
Burt is a genetic counselor who works with Dr. Pete Baker in the hospital's metabolic clinic.
"We see kids with rare genetic disorders," Baker said.
The work extends beyond the patient in the room.
"We're also thinking about their family members — so if something is genetic, could it affect other family members? We start with parents to see if they are at risk," Burt said.
She is new to the clinical team, but she has found that her years on the ice have made her a better counselor.
"My skills that I built through the Avs — talking with fans, and talking to anyone who comes up to us during a game — actually helped me when I had to sit down with patients. I wasn't quite as nervous about meeting a new face," Burt said.
For Burt, the rink is also a place of personal restoration.
"This is where you come to put stress away and hang out with family," Burt said.
That family includes her fiancé Sebastian Wilson. The two have worked together on the ice patrol for seven years and share a love of hockey and their Avalanche family. They will marry in September.
"It's cool that both our fun hobby jobs are here," Wilson said.
Wilson added that it's simply "too fun of a job not to stay here as long as we can."
Up in the balcony during a recent playoff game, Burt's parents and sibling watched from the stands.
"So proud of her, in admiration of her. Stellar human, who gives and loves and cares — she's one hell of a person," her mom Jackie said.
Her dad Ashley added she is "having a blast, in her element, in the now."
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
