Ex-Peterborough forward finds ice time in Quebec
Michael Little is all revved up with nowhere to go.
Just as the former Peterborough Petes forward was set to return from an ankle injury, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League shut down its two Quebec-based divisions due to a COVID-19 outbreak. Eight of Little’s Drummondville Voltigeurs teammates have tested positive for COVID-19 and it’s not clear when they might resume playing.
When it became clear in September that Little wasn’t going to return to the Petes as an overager, with 12 players eligible for three spots, Little sought an opportunity in Quebec.
“As the pandemic went on my agent and I realized the OHL was going to be a while before it started if it started. We felt like coming out here would be a fresh start and something different. I was lucky enough to find Drummondville and I’ve loved it here so far.”
The Mississauga native sprained his ankle in training prior to arriving in Drummondville where he had to quarantine at his billet’s home for 14 days before joining the team.
He sat in the stands to watch their first four regular season games. He returned to the ice for practice two weeks ago. The Voltigeurs are 3-1-0 so far.
“It’s a great organization here,” Little said. “It’s kind of like Peterborough. It’s a smaller city and an older rink like Peterborough, too. It’s a great staff, great team. It’s a younger team and the coach has done a really good job and they’ve had an unreal start.”
Despite the stoppage and the cases around him, Little says
he’s happy with his decision to go to Quebec.
“It’s great to be back at the rink,” he said. “I get up and go to the rink every day and I’m guaranteed to be on the ice every day and in the gym every day.”
It’s a strange atmosphere, he said, watching games with no fans. The Quebec government
gave the 12 Quebec-based teams $20 million to operate with no ticket revenues.
“It’s a little different but it’s better than nothing for sure,” Little said. “The timeouts during the periods are a lot more quiet. I think it makes the games a bit more intense. No one is watching so no one is
afraid to make mistakes or are playing with as much pressure on their backs.”
As COVID-19 cases in Quebec rose and18 players on the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada tested positive, players started to anticipate a shutdown.
“You could see it coming but it’s still better than being at home and doing nothing. You can only control what you can control and this is out of our control so you just deal with it,” he said.
Little said cases are up but death rates have decreased, so he’s not too worried about his safety.
“Maybe to a certain extent, but not too much,” he said. “I don’t think I’m scared to do anything or go anywhere,” he said.
“I basically wake up, go to the rink and go home. There is no real need to go anywhere.”
As for what lies ahead he doesn’t know what to expect.
“If corona dies down and goes back to where it was a couple of months ago I think we’ll be back. I’m not too worried about this season getting cancelled,” he said.
He does regret not doing better in French at school or taking French Immersion like his two sisters.
“It’s getting better. It’s hard to order things or ask people things. I have to work on it still. It’s not very good,” he said. “Most of the guys speak English.”