Gryzelcyk
tle nerve-wracking. You’re just not sure what this all means going forward. Also you want to make sure those players and the people they’re around are staying healthy and staying isolated so that we can slow the passing of this. I think obviously everyone wants to get back to a little bit of normalcy as soon as we can.”
The playoffs are notorious for being a war of attrition, but now there’s the chance that players can be taken out of hotly contested series for testing positive for the virus
“I’m not sure exactly what the protocol is going to be but if we’re in the middle of a series and all of a sudden we lose an important player, that would be tough to overcome for sure. It will be important for us to stay in communication with each other to make sure that we’re aware of certain situations that could pop up. We’ve had injuries and stuff in the past in the playoffs and we’ve overcome that. I think we would just try to approach it in the same way but obviously you want your teammates and their families to be as healthy as possible,” said Grzelcyk.
“We’re just going to have to listen to the doctors and the medical staff to make sure it’s a safe environment. If we lose a player, it would certainly be tough but in that situation you (must) really pull together to make up for that loss. I’m not really sure what to make of it. I think we have to hear from the league on certain protocols. I’m sure they’re still coming up with different ideas and what it means if someone does test positive. Do they have to miss time or what? I know they’ll do their best to consult with the players in the league who they normally talk with for stuff like that and come up with the best solutions. I think as players, as long as it’s safe, we just want to make sure we get a chance to hopefully compete. We’ve done enough sitting around, so I think a lot of us are excited to hopefully get a chance to play again.”
The gravity of the situation is clearly not lost on Grzelcyk.
“I try to realize the seriousness of the matter and I think we were all kind of in the dark in the first few days and weeks about what was going on. But you watch the news and you see how serious this whole situation is. You just want to make sure that you’re helping find a solution and that you’re following all the guidelines that the the CDC has put in place,” said Grzelcyk.
“I hope we have the opportunity to get back soon. As we’re going to the rink and things like that, we realize that there’s a little more freedom than we had at first, but to still have that in mind, that people are losing their lives in this situation. You want to make sure that you’re doing more good than harm, you’re wearing a mask at all times, washing your hands and fol lowing precautions so you don’t spread it on to other people. I think it’s very serious matter. As much as we do want to play, we realize that there are more important things in life and you want to make sure other things fall into place first.”
Grzelcyk experienced an extended stay off the ice after undergoing knee surgery going into his senior season at Boston University, but this layoff was a little different. He admitted to being a bit tentative when he was first allowed back on the Warrior Arena ice at the start of Phase 2.
“I was a little nervous to be honest, hopping on after not having the chance to go on for three months really,” said Grzelcyk. “I was pleasantly surprised the first couple of times. That was nice. It was probably due to the fact that we were in full swing of things in the season and still had that mentality, especially now that we had that date thrown out there for training camp might start. I think that’s given at least me some more clarity into things and it kind of gives you a time frame in mind for when you need to be ready. It’s been good. It’s been a joy to get back out there and see some of the guys again and just go have fun and break a sweat. It’s been great mentally more so than physically. Hopefully things keep going well in that aspect. The testing has been pretty tedious but it’s necessary and I think that the league and its teams have taken all the right measures so that the players are staying as healthy as possible as well as the staff going to the rink.”
The groups for the voluntary skates have been bumped up from six to 12 this week. The next bit of news/progress on the Return to Play front could be the announcement of the two hub cities for round-robin and tournament play. According to various reports, the remaining cities in the selection process are Las Vegas, Vancouver, Chicago, Edmonton, Toronto and Los Angeles.
“In terms of the hub cities, I’m not really sure what to expect. I have full confidence that the league will handle that as best as they can. I know they’ve taken a lot of suggestions on things,” said Grelcyk. “I can’t speak for people in terms of their family situations but I’m sure it’s going to be a quite a lockdown. I’m prepared to be pretty isolated. So I think just have to be aware of those things and know that things are probably not going to go as planned the whole time. And t hings happen, that’s what’s been apparent with this whole situation. You realize adversity is going to hit, but you just making sure that you’re in the best frame, mentally, will go a long way.”