Al Sobotka (born October 16, 1953) is the building operations manager for Olympia Entertainment. His responsibilities include day-to-day operations at both Joe Louis Arena and Cobo Arena. Sobotka is known mostly for driving the Zamboni during Detroit Red Wings games for the past 30 years and for collecting the octopuses thrown on the ice during Red Wings playoff games. The official mascot of the Red Wings is named after Sobotka. Sobotka came in second with 97,261 votes in Zamboni News' 1999 Zamboni "Driver of the Year" Award.
Read more about Al Sobotka: Sobotka's Role As Zamboni Driver, Dealing With Octopodes