During a lull in the preliminary-round game down on the ice, TSN play-by-play voice Kenzie Lalonde turned her attention to the penalty box. A man who looked old enough to be her father — she is 28 — was positioning himself against the glass for a selfie with a celebrity.
The star was not a player, nor a former player, nor another on-air personality. The only way they appear on the screen at all during the IIHF Women’s World Championship is by accident. Nathan Eidse is the ice-level camera operator who has become prominent through the act of trying to remain anonymous.
“He’s the most famous man in the rink,” said Lalonde. “Without a doubt.”
Eidse is scheduled to work all 31 tournament games played this month in Brampton, Ont., and he will do them all dressed head-to-toe in white. He wears a white helmet and a white golf shirt over a pair of white golf pants and a pair of white booties to cover his skates.
His goal is to deliver visuals not normally seen during a hockey broadcast. He is on the ice before the game, gathering close-up shots of the starting goaltenders. And he is on the ice for penalties and goals and the raw emotion of players singing their national anthem after a win.
The white clothing that is intended to help him blend into his surroundings has made…
