Just what do you do when you have more than 60 players, coaches and staff who have to lock themselves in their Red Deer hotel rooms for 14 days straight, with no opportunity for recreation or anything resembling hockey activities?
Hockey Canada found the answer.
And through a concerted effort from Team Canada staff not in quarantine and the Red Deer community in general, they’re all on the verge of coming out the other side.
Moose Jaw Warriors general manager and member of the World Junior team management group Alan Millar is one of those who have found themselves caught in the quagmire. And while the situation was less than idea, he and his fellow NJT staff have found ways to keep the players and themselves from catching quarantine’s most feared side effect -- cabin fever.
“You know what, things are going pretty well,” Millar said from Red Deer Friday afternoon. “For me personally, I’m very busy with this team, the Warriors, league stuff, scheduling, return-to-play protocols, lots of phone calls and lots of Zoom calls. So for me, I’ve been keeping busy
“And for our group, they’ve really been outstanding,” he added. “The players and the staff have all really jumped into this situation and not let them get down, they’ve been engaged in committees and have done a lot of social things and had a lot of meetings, there’s been entertainers, comedians, motivational speakers, lots going on.”
That’s all on top of the work Red Deer itself has done to help out — the fitness community rallied to bring 69 exercise bikes to the quarantine hotel, and through the magic of Zoom, players have been able to hold workouts with the team’s strength and conditioning staff throughout the two week pause. That, on top of fitness instructors offering spin and yoga classes on a daily basis.
Non-quarantined Hockey Canada staff have also helped out with meal delivery, laundry and other day-to-day issues in order to help time pass that much easier.
“So I think everyone has chipped in to make these 14 days the best they could and we’re turning the corner on these last few days,” Millar said. “I think everyone should be proud of how they’ve handled this and in particular our players.”
That includes Moose Jaw Warriors defenceman Daemon Hunt, who has ridden out the quarantine just like the other 40-plus players taking part in the camp.
Hunt and the rest of the crew might find themselves doing things a little differently when things open up on Tuesday. There are still aspects for a return to the ice that have to be ironed out with Alberta health officials -- the province is currently the hotspot in Canada for the disease with nearly 2,000 cases reported on Saturday alone -- but the hope is the team will be able to quickly move into the Edmonton bubble for the world junior tournament.
“We hope to get that information clarified very soon,” Millar said. “As a group, myself and the coaches, we have three contingency plans and what it might look like and once we get the go-ahead we’ll decide what we’re doing.
“We’re going to do everything we can following all the protocols and doing what we can to get back on the ice and be as safe as we can.”
For some of Millar’s personal thoughts on the whole National Junior team bubble, be sure to check out the Hockey Canada website and read his entry in their Bubble Blog, as well as plenty of other info on how things are going in quarantine and at the camp.
The World Junior Hockey championship is set to kick off on Christmas Day, with Canada slated to face Germany in their opener on Boxing Day.
