Team Canada ready to hit the ice

It’s only a matter of hours until Team Canada gets to break free from the chains of confinement and finally, finally step into the world junior hockey championships.

After spending 19 of the last 24 days isolated in individual hotel rooms — 14 in Red Deer and five more after they arrived in Edmonton — the end, and the beginning, are close enough to touch.

With sanitized hands, of course.

“After going through that first one, this is a lot lighter, for sure,” defenceman Jamie Drysdale said from his space at the J.W. Marriott. “Everyone here, from players to team staff, is just excited for when we can get back on the ice and get going with the tournament.”

They get out Friday. Until then, it helps that they’re locked in a pretty sweet prison.

“It is probably the nicest hotel room I’ve ever stayed in,” said Drysdale. “I have zero complaints. The food has been great, it’s a very good spot to stay.”

Added six-foot-four, 221-pound centre Quinton Byfield: “The rooms are awesome. I have a king-sized bed, so I‘m getting some good sleeps.”

They say it’s not just normal human interaction they miss most, but the time they need to spend with their new teammates. Trying to establish a close bond isn’t easy when everyone is locked in separate rooms for 19 days.

“I miss just getting on the ice every day and getting to play some hockey and seeing your teammates,” said Byfield. “There are a lot of new faces on this team. You can still connect with them on Zoom calls, and though Facetime and calls, but it’s not the same interaction as getting to know them on a personal level. That’s a little bit tough.”

But they get by, alternating between the virtual world and the real one and relying on the resilience that comes from being a teenager and the strength that comes from being somebody Hockey Canada selected to wear the colours.

“It’s just a matter of finding things to do to keep you sane,” said Sherwood Park defenceman Kaiden Guhle. “You can only play so many video games and watch so much Netflix. I even tried to learn how to juggle for a little bit. Finding things to do is the toughest part.

“It’s been a struggle at times, but us going through it helps us a little bit, gets us through a hump of adversity.”

The strangeness will continue throughout the tournament. Team Canada will go straight from its second quarantine to playing home games in empty buildings.

Instead of the frenzied sea of red and white that is so much a part of the world juniors, it will be dead silence.

For locals Guhle and Kirby Dach, who would have filled a section all by themselves with friends and family, it stings a little more than most.

“Maybe a tiny bit, but that’s where the world is right now, which is unfortunate,” said Guhle. “You have to learn to get used to it. It obviously sucks that my parents and friends can’t be here to watch and support me, but I’m 20 minutes from my house and I still feel at home, which helps.

“I’m just happy to be part of the whole experience. It’s really cool to be a part of this.”