Minor hockey body considers its options
SMHA officials have not ruled out possibility of extending the season
Even after having eye surgery on Thursday, Kelly Boes was seeing minor hockey's sheets of ice, and an often blurred and disrupted COVID-19 hockey season, as being half full instead of half empty.
Boes and the Saskatoon Minor Hockey Association, for which he serves as executive director, together remain focused on one month at a time as they continue to safely stickhandle their way around a series of provincial restrictions.
Although no games can be played, and no games are in sight, SMHA teams are currently allowed to conduct practices with a maximum of eight players on the ice.
“As a group, SMHA, it was unanimous that we felt, for the best interest of kids' physical and mental health, we should keep them skating,” Boes said on Thursday after SMHA executive members met this week to put together a plan.
“It's definitely not ideal, not playing games, but if you compare it to what our neighbouring provinces' kids are going through, they would give anything to get out there skating with seven teammates.”
Boes said they are grateful for what they have compared to other jurisdictions in Canada.
“I know Winnipeg kids haven't skated since late October and I think it was Nov. 12 or 13 in Alberta when they shut down, so it's not perfect but it's still a chance to mark an event on the calendar, get out and have some physical exercise and see some hockey buddies and go for a skate and maybe a little mental relief too from staying at home,” he said.
Current provincial health orders are in effect until Jan. 29; the SMHA executive expects to see its next update from the province in the days leading up to then.
“Right now, we're sort of taking it a block of a month at a time,” said Boes, “kind of scheduling everybody through February, assuming that we have one or two or three government announcements on health orders along the way that will hopefully either dictate some loosening of where we're at or, worst case is potentially tightening if things get worse.”
All teams will have ice times assigned to them through Jan. 31, assuming the minor hockey association will still be able to do so as it tries “to create a balance so the kids get some exercise and keep enjoying the game as much as we can under the conditions we're providing,” he said.
Boes says SMHA officials haven't ruled out the possibility of extending the hockey season if restrictions are loosened this spring and if, somehow, games could be played.
“We're really just operating to the end of February right now,” he said.
“Assuming things stay the same or get better, we'll definitely want to proceed into March. Then if it looks like we could have games, we've definitely discussed the possibility of being able to play into April.
“Typically, we don't go past March 31, but we would definitely be open to it. I know we're being cautioned by SHA (Saskatchewan Health Authority) that it's not very likely that we in Saskatchewan hockey are going to see games, but I guess we hold out hope somewhat.”
Families will be issued credits or refunds by their respective zones should their allocated ice and referee costs not be entirely used up.
“We're basically tracking every team down to the hour, down to the dollar,” Boes said.
“Come March, we'll see what we can do then. … If we pick a day in mid-march and call it a day, and that's all we can do, we'll be refunding back to zones whatever's left, what teams haven't been able to use for their game ice, practice ice and referee costs.”