COVID is not done with hockey, that much is clear. World Juniors cancelled after starting was just a sign of things to come.
The Government of Ontario Canada has locked down the Province once again. Schools, restaurants, gyms and just about everything else is closed unless it is an outdoor event with limited seating or limited size of 10 or fewer people.
Hockey and “training” is only open to “athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues.”
Junior A, Junior B and other Amateur hockey is not considered “elite” under government standards in Canada. The NHL and OHL are considered “elite” and “professional”.
The lockdown is slated to continue through January 26th, 20022.
This lockdown is in my opinion just too much. It is wrong on so many levels that I wont waste my time bitching about stupidity any more.
All last night while the news was coming out my phone was ringing. Players do not believe they will be back in January and many do not believe they will come back before March or April if they come back at all.
What are players and parents supposed to do when they are fully vaccinated, and many have gotten booster shots? How much more caution is anyone supposed to have? How much more of their lives are they supposed to put on hold for people who may or may not get COVID?
Enough is enough already.
Now, Canadian players are looking to leave and head to the USA. And that creates problems for players in the United States who have been playing on their teams. Now if a Canadian player is willing to come down to the States, an American player may be bumped from his role on the team he has been playing on.
Yes, the Coach is always going to play to win, and every owner is going to sign players to make their team better.
Get ready because if on January 26th Ontario isn’t open again, the flood gates at the borders will surely open to the United States. And what then for the Canadian teams and team owners?
If anyone believes three weeks is enough to get any country or part of a country through this wave of COVID, they probably still believe in the tooth fairy.
For those of you looking to make a move, make it now, in three weeks there may not be a chance.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
