Quarantined players find life in a bubble ‘boring’
It’s ‘strange’ and ‘boring,’ Pettersson says, but Canucks’ pending playoffs exciting
In this strange time of COVID-19, self-isolation is a necessary thing.
The Canadian government’s mandate is anyone arriving from abroad must self-isolate for 14 days. If someone is infected with the virus that causes COVID-19, most will show symptoms well before 14 days pass. It’s widely believed that if you don’t show symptoms within 14 days, you don’t have novel coronavirus.
Someone in regular self-isolation is allowed to go outside, but you must avoid close contact with other people. Ideally, others are able to go get groceries and other supplies for you and then use no-contact methods to deliver them.
For the bulk of the Vancouver Canucks squad, similar rules are going to be in effect as they return to Vancouver ahead of training camp, which is still scheduled to commence July 10. The only difference is players are allowed to go to Rogers Arena for workouts; normal self-isolation rules would prohibit such activity.
“When we were talking to the province about the hub city bid, they had approved this cohort quarantine concept,” Canucks assistant general manager Chris Gear said. “The bubble was to be the hotel and the rink.”
The hub city bid didn’t materialize for Vancouver, but the provincial government agreed to extend the cohort quarantine concept to the Canucks’ current Phase 2 period, where players are skating in small groups at Rogers Arena but not at the direction of any coach.
There are only a handful of Canucks who are exempt from having to participate in the cohort quarantine: Chris Tanev, Alex Edler, Jake Virtanen and Troy Stecher, who all remained in the Lower Mainland while the league was on pause. Jay Beagle and Brandon Sutter, who went home to Alberta, would also be exempt if they were to drive, not fly, back to Vancouver.
The rest of the team, whether they’re one of the 17 players coming back to town from the United States, Sweden or Finland, or flying back from elsewhere in Canada, will have to spend time in the cohort quarantine bubble.
The players are all staying in a cordoned-off section of the J.W. Marriott Parq Vancouver, where they can get food delivered to their room, either from hotel room service or from a selection of local restaurants through the Canucks Marketplace setup.
The international players will be in the bubble for 14 days, the players arriving from elsewhere in Canada, like Bo Horvat and Antoine Roussel, will have to spend a league-mandated eight days in the bubble.
Goalie coach Ian Clark had returned to the U.S. and is in self-isolation at the hotel. Head coach Travis Green spent much of the last three months with his family at his off-season home in Irvine, Calif., but returned 16 days ago and spent his 14-day self-isolation period at his Vancouver condo and has been cleared to go out in public again.
The players have been divided into four groups: the local, non-quarantined group; the Canadians who had to travel using commercial airlines; and the 17 international players, who have been split into two groups.
All four groups are being kept isolated from each other, including the two international groups. Each group is using their own dressing room at Rogers Arena. The arena’s training facilities are being given a thorough cleaning between each group’s session.
“Of course it’s strange,” Elias Pettersson said Thursday on a Zoom video chat with reporters. “You just walk to the rink and back to the hotel. It’s kind of boring, but it is what it is.”
Pettersson said he’s been watching streaming shows — Brock Boeser has introduced him to Gossip Girl, for example — and has his PlayStation 4 as well.
The players are allowed to mingle in their respective groups, Gear said. A lounge space is available for players to use, but even there they’ve been advised to follow physical distancing rules.
“Just like you have your own social bubble, they’re following those guidelines,” he said.
Players are first tested the morning after they arrive in Vancouver. To start Phase 2 at the arena, a player must have had a negative test within the previous 48 hours. Going forward, they will be tested twice a week.
“A little odd, a little uncomfortable, but it’s over quickly,” Pettersson said of the nose-swab testing experience.
Gear said all tests so far had been negative. Once players have passed their quarantine period and are deemed infection-free, they’ll be allowed to return to their homes.
SNAP SHOTS: Jake Virtanen’s visit to Celebrities night club earlier this week — which was subject to much debate on social media — didn’t break any health rules, Gear pointed out, but the team still had reservations about the outing. “Jake didn’t do anything wrong, but now that we’re heading into Phase 2, it’s not just about him anymore,” Gear said, adding the Canucks reminded the 24-year-old about the risks of going out in public and that he could expose the entire team, not just him. “It’s all about hockey now and he gets that.” ... Pettersson said he followed his usual summertime routine while he was back home in Sweden and did off-ice training. This week is the first time he’s been on skates since the NHL paused.