Helmets sit on the Medicine Hat Tigers' bench prior to their 2019-20 home opener against the Lethbridge Hurricanes at what is now Co-Op Place. -- NEWS FILE PHOTO RYAN MCCRACKEN
rmccracken@medicinehatnews.com@MHNMcCracken
Life in the Dub just ain’t the same as it used to be.
With the COVID-19 pandemic still stuck between the spokes of sports organizations the planet over, the Western Hockey League has been forced to employ a number of varied methods in order to keep the game alive for its crop of hopeful young talent.
So what does this mean for the Medicine Hat Tigers?
Days at the rink
Tigers director of player personnel Bobby Fox says players enter Co-Op Place in staggered groups of eight between 8-8:10 a.m., and typically remain at the rink until around 5 p.m. on non-game days.
Upon entry, players must sanitize, have their temperature checked and fill out a questionnaire through the WHL RMS Athlete mobile app. While at the rink, players must be masked at all times except when on the ice, and are subject to a number of other protocols including limited capacity in the gym and regular cleaning.
“We have protocols in place where we have a limited number of people in the gym at a time, a limited number of people in some common rooms that we share,” said Fox, adding the RMS Athlete app keeps a database of symptoms and temperatures for the team.
“I believe it’s like 8-10 yes-or-no questions. It requires you to put in your temperature. It all gets sent to us through an administration site online and we can keep track. We ask all our players to stay home even if they have any sort of mild symptom at all. Knock on wood, that hasn’t been the case yet. But we want to be as safe as possible and make sure we’re doing things the right way.”
School
All WHL players will be taking part in distance learning during this 24-game season, and the Tigers have even set up a space for players to complete their studies without having to attend classes at local schools.
“We actually have it set up in the visitors’ room, three different sections. We have about 10 guys in school, so there’s a designated time period there that they all go to school during the day,” said Fox. “At the beginning they had to provide us with their academic calendar, and due dates and so forth. Every morning they have to provide us with their daily agenda of what they need to accomplish. We have availability with the WHL tutors as well for them. It’s a priority that we make sure these guys aren’t falling behind education-wise.”
Billet life
Life outside of the rink will present one of the biggest changes for players this season. While the Tigers will still be able to live at billets, they will also be subject to a number of new protocols at their home away from home.
Players are not allowed to socialize outside of their billet house, including attending the billet homes of other players, and Fox says they’re encouraged to mask up and keep to their own area of the house when possible.
“We can’t stop a billet from going to work, so there is some risk involved there, but typically we ask our players to be masked up at home. Obviously if their bedroom or living space is in the basement, that they keep to that area – even eat in those areas away from the billet families,” said Fox. “It’s a different experience billet-wise this year, and we really appreciate the ones who stepped up with the extra work and the extra protocols we have to go through.”
Different approaches
Other teams have taken different approaches to boarding players. The Red Deer Rebels have opted to house players inside suites at Westerner Park Centrium, while the Calgary Hitmen and Lethbridge Hurricanes will each be residing in a hotel and the East Division is conducting a hub city in Regina.
Tigers media services manager Adam Jones says the team first consulted with its billets, and upon confirming they were on board to comply with new restrictions, planning for the season began.
“After our conversations with the billet families we were comfortable going that direction,” said Jones. “We are in a fortunate situation with our billet families feeling comfortable and confident in the Western Hockey League’s return to play protocols to safely house our players.”
That comfort and confidence is felt by the players as well. Although each scenario across the WHL has its pros and cons, Hat goaltender Garin Bjorklund says he feels the Tigers are in the best spot to achieve a sense of normalcy while adhering to health guidelines and still playing the game they love.
“I think we’re pretty fortunate to be able to live with billets,” he said. “We’ve done it the past few years and every year we’ve been playing, so we’re kind of used to going back to our billets. These teams that are living at the rink or in a bubble, I think that’s going to be a little bit different for those guys. With us, I think it’s not too bad. We’re kind of used to living at billets so it’s kind of like last year.”
Tabby defenceman Cole Clayton agreed, saying it could prove difficult to live at the rink, even for a short season.
“I think it’s a healthy thing to be able to get away from the rink and be able go back to your billets,” he said. “If you have a bad game you can just get away from hockey, I don’t know if you were living at the rink you would be able to do that.”
Road trips
The Tigers likely won’t be staying in a single hotel this season.
The Central Division’s schedule is broken up into a series of home-and-home sets, and all games within the division will take place inside the borders of Alberta.
As a result, Jones says the Tigers have not scheduled any hotel stays for the season, and will instead plan to leave for road games the morning of, then return home that same evening after the game concludes.
