Budgell eager to get back
Islanders captain expected in Charlottetown today to begin quarantine
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Charlottetown Islanders players began returning to P.E.I. Sunday to start their 14 days of quarantine before hitting the ice for the second half of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League season.
Three players from Quebec and another from Ontario drove back while captain Brett Budgell was scheduled to fly in today from St. John’s, N.L.
Charlottetown’s Thomas Casey, Covehead’s Keiran Gallant and Zac Beauregard of Repentigny, Que., remained on the Island for the Christmas holidays. Cédric Desruisseaux went home for a week before returning to quarantine. They have been skating with Island pros who are preparing for camp.
The team’s 13 other players from Atlantic Canada remain home.
“We’re going to holdoff and buy ourselves a little bit of time to see if the bubble reopens,” head coach and general manager Jim Hulton said Sunday. “If we don’t have to put a kid in a 14-day quarantine, we prefer not to.”
The Islanders haven’t played since defeating the Halifax Mooseheads 5-3 on
Nov. 18. Their next scheduled game is slated for Jan. 22 at home when they host the Cape Breton Eagles, pending approval from health authorities in the Maritimes.
“Like everybody else, we’ll keep our fingers crossed and hope that we continue to make progress here and we can perhaps open things up a little more,” Hulton said.
A number of the Maritime players are skating with each other and have access to gyms in their hometowns. The guys returning will have stationary bikes in their
room at the Rodd Royalty to remain in shape during quarantine.
Budgell said his decision to come back early was about preparation.
“We’re in for a long second half,” he said. “There’s a lot of uncertainty around the bubble, so if I can get there and get my two weeks quarantine done and be able to practice before we get going with some games that would be huge.”
He had to quarantine when he arrived home in Newfoundland in December and said it isn’t easy.
“I think it’s important to have a routine,” he said. “The days can kind of seem long, certainly when you get to Day 7 and you realize you’re only halfway through.”
Hulton said the team had a couple of Zoom calls during the holidays and the importance of staying in shape was stressed before the players departed.
“Is there a way that we could use this downtime as a positive to make us better,” he said was the message. “The teams that are in shape are going to have a step up on the opposition, I think, when play does resume.”
Despite the uncertainty surrounding sports during a pandemic, Budgell is looking forward the second half.
“I am really excited to get back to the Island,” he said. “I’m really excited about the group that we have. I think we have great group of guys there, not only as hockey players but as people. To have a long playoff push with that group would be special.”