The United States and Canadian border closure agreement is set to be extended again through the end of October.
As COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the United States, Canada is now also seeing rising numbers in virus cases in Ontario and British Columbia recently.
While not the final blow to players in the United States who planned on playing in Canada, it is getting closer to being the final blow. As Canadian teams prepare for their seasons, those roster spots filled by American players in the past are almost all completely filled by Canadians.
On the other side, those roster spots usually filled by import players wishing to play in the United States have been filled by players who usually head north to Canada. Only a few Canadian players have traveled south this season.
Coaches in the United States are openly talking about how having the home grown players return has made recruiting easier, and elevated the level of play across the board.
While in Canada, Coaches are making due with younger rosters and using more players out of AAA and Junior B programs.
The larger problem in Canada is not receiving those American dollars that come with the American players. The holes in team budgets created by not having fans in the buildings this year become larger holes when American dollars are not there to subsidize costs.
As everyone moves closer to attempting to start their seasons, its time for those who had hope to cross the border to simply find a place to play and hope for a season. Having hope for a season is a completely different story.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
