Last week, the USPHL announced plans for a “Hub City” in Florida. The plan calls for teams to play as many games as possible in approximately six weeks time.
Bubbles work. The NHL used a bubble and it worked to finish last season. Several teams in North America are using housing bubbles with great success this season as well. My team in Poland has used a player housing bubble since August and we have had zero issues thus far.
The teams, and programs who are experiencing stops and extended delays in their seasons are experiencing them because of the continued use of billet families.
The billet family is a traditional and very important part of a normal junior hockey season. This is not a normal junior hockey season.
Looking at the USPHL plan using a gated community with all of the amenities any athlete could hope for is looking at what should be a model for everyone until the pandemic ends.
The USPHL plan includes testing and specific isolation housing for players who test positive for COVID.
This is the most forward thinking plan any league has put forth thus far at the junior level. Anyone being critical of this plan simply doesn’t know the details.
Anyone saying NCDC players are now having to pay thousands of dollars in additional costs simply does not know the plan and does not have access to information.
NCDC players are paying for their housing and meals in Florida. No differently than they pay for them in the team’s home city.
Those USPHL teams going to the Florida Hub will continue to collect tuition as they always do along with the players housing fee’s. No differently than players paying in the team’s home city.
Instead of taking shots at the USPHL for moving to Florida for a few weeks, everyone should be asking themselves why their league has not done something like this. Or maybe you all enjoy having your season stopped and restarted once a month?
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
