Blades left to play the waiting game
‘We’re a very, very, very small cog in the wheel of what’s going on right now’: GM
It was game time Friday, but no pucks could be dropped.
The Saskatoon Blades were already in Winnipeg by Thursday, getting ready for a scheduled Friday night Western Hockey League game against the host Winnipeg Ice, when they found out that all Canadian Hockey League play was shutting down, at least temporarily, because of concerns over the spread of novel coronavirus.
Blades general manager Colin Priestner was not with his team at the time. He was on a scouting trip on the west coast when coronavirus hit the proverbial fan. He was on his way back Thursday night.
“We’re a very, very, very small cog in the wheel of what’s going on right now,” Priestner said.
“I think the most important part is the health of the players and the health of everybody. It’s really disappointing to not be playing hockey at the best time of the year — we’ve had many years where we’d be gearing up for playoffs — but, ultimately, everything becomes second when there’s a pandemic going around the world.
“I’m sure everybody’s disappointed, but I don’t think there’s anybody who doesn’t fully understand.”
Prior to the WHL’S decision — made Thursday, after the NHL decided to suspend play — the Blades were on a call at the WHL governors’ level, “just kind of informing everybody of what was going on,” Priestner explained.
“So it’s more now about trying to work through the logistics and it’s kind of uncharted water for all of us. We’re just trying to do the best we can with our limited amount of information that we all have.”
The Blades practised one last time Thursday morning before learning of their fate later that day.
Priestner said that, for at least the time being, the Blades players would remain in Saskatoon.
“Our league will meet next week to kind of go over the next steps of what to do. That’s above my pay grade, but it would be compliance with anything that comes our way. Hopefully things settle down around the world with the virus so that life can get back to normal.
“There’s a lot of people who are losing a big chunk of their life savings and the economy. There’s a lot bigger things in the world — bigger than hockey or soccer or lacrosse.”
When he was sitting at the airport Thursday on his way back home to Saskatoon, it really had a wartime feel, Priestner said.
“It’s like the world is at war all of a sudden. It’s the first event that I can remember in my lifetime, since 9-11, where literally every person at every table at every airport is talking about the exact same thing. It’s just inescapable and you want to stay healthy, so everybody’s kind of minding their own space in the airport.
“It’s a really eerie feeling all around the world. It’s really bizarre. I was actually in San Francisco and Washington on two different scouting trips, so I was in two kind-of hotbed areas, so the last few days, I’ve been constantly Purell-ing everything, just trying to get through the day, but it looks like everything will be grinding to a halt in the next few days.”
When the WHL announced it was suspending play, there was still hope that play could possibly resume at a later date to salvage an otherwise shortened season.
“I think, like the NHL said, everyone’s goal is to play again during this season,” Priestner said. “We paused our season, and suspended it, but we didn’t cancel it. It’s one of those things where everybody’s kind of in a waiting game, seeing what’s going to happen on the whole global and national landscape over the next short period of time for us to all assess what happens out there.
“It’s precautionary right now. If you look at Saskatchewan, it’s not (as prevalent) ... but I think it will probably hit us one day soon — if you listen to the World Health Organization, it will — so we’ll just do our best.”
It’s the first event that I can remember in my lifetime, since 9-11, where literally every person at every table at every airport is talking about the exact same thing