With the third wave of the ongoing pandemic taking hold throughout Western Canada, the WHL’s board of governors decided to officially cancel the 2020-21 playoffs, a move that was made out of an abundance of caution given the risks of inter-provincial and cross-border travel with the United States.
For the Moose Jaw Warriors and their compatriots in the East Division Hub, the news came with an ‘it is what it is’ reaction, especially given the success the seven teams have had avoiding COVID-19 throughout their time in isolation. The East is the only division have not had an outbreak of one sort or another through their 24-game campaign.
“It’s tough for the players, especially when you play to win the game and play to compete at the end,” said Warriors head coach Mark O’Leary. “It’s always nice to make the playoffs, it’s the most important part of the season and it’s what you play for, but this year is unlike any other, that’s for sure.
“It certainly doesn’t surprise me and I certainly understand why there aren’t playoffs, but this plays right into what we’ve talked about all along. It’s about our process and where we are as a team, and the fact there aren’t any playoffs isn’t going to change our day-to-day or our outlook on this season.”
O’Leary and the Warriors never waivered from that focus this season, regardless of win streaks or losing skids -- this was all about development, right from game one, and will remain so through game 24.
“To be honest, we haven’t talked about results at all with the group,” O’Leary said. “If anything, we’ve re-emphasized the fact that we’re all about standard over goals, goals meaning where you want to finish or anything like that.
“For their own personal development and the development of our team, where we’re at right now is all about meeting the standards we’ve set… the most important thing is the eye-test for me and if we’re winning the races and battles and paying attention to the details, playing as a five-man unit with a pack mentality, that’s a positive.”
The Warriors have seen success when using that style of play and faltered when going away from it. Grabbing a fistful of consistency through the final four games -- and clawing their way back to .500 from their current 8-11-1-0 record in the process -- will be the goal the rest of the way.
“It’s all work-based and the results will be what they are this year,” O’Leary said. “We want to hit the ground running next year and that’s not going to change when it comes to our races and battles and execution of them.”
Through it all and however things shake out, the Warriors are just happy to have had a chance to play -- especially in light of all the cancellations surrounding the sport, including the Ontario Hockey League’s official shutdown on Tuesday afternoon.
“If you look at the world around us and certainly in Canada, we’re pretty fortunate to have had a chance to play 24 games in this hub, and we’ll certainly take that,” O’Leary said.
