B.C. hockey academies taking aim at game action
CSSHL official says high-school players should be hitting the ice by Oct. 15
B.C.'S hockey academies are preparing to play games against one another this month.
Some schedules are still being ironed out, but Canadian Sport School Hockey League (CSSHL) chief operating officer Kevin Goodwin says the plan is for B.C.'S eight academies — Burnaby Winter Club, Delta Hockey, Okanagan Hockey, Pacific Coast Hockey, Rink Hockey, Shawnigan Lake, St. George's and Yale — to be playing exhibition contests by Oct. 15.
The high school-aged boys' and girls' teams from the various programs will be placed in cohorts of four, which is in line with the protocols set forth by viasport, the provincial government agency that's spearheaded the returnto-play plans during these novel coronavirus times.
Goodwin says the teams are slated to take a short break in November and then reset the cohort groupings. That also follows viasport guidelines.
Even though the programs are connected to high schools — Delta Hockey players attend North Delta Secondary, for instance — academy hockey falls under the community sport banner provincially. Community sports have the OK to be up and running, but competition between rival school teams has been postponed until further notice by health authorities.
The province's return to school plan, which was released in July, stated that inter-school competition would be re-evaluated by “mid-fall 2020.”
“Getting back to games will be amazing,” Caleb Reimer, a 15-yearold forward with Delta Hockey's under-18 boys team, said. “It's not the same practising. It's not the same scrimmaging against your own team. You want to compete against someone other than your friends.”
Delta Hockey (DHA) is led by president Ian Gallagher and based out of Planet Ice Delta. They have 160 players. Half of them attend classes at North Delta in the morning, half go in the afternoon.
DHA had come up with that plan last year, figuring it was a better use of time and facilities. It's dovetailed neatly into the safety and physical distancing protocols of COVID-19.
The DHA players are their own learning cohort at North Delta. The other hockey academies in this province have similar setups.
“We don't really get a chance to communicate with the other kids at North Delta,” Reimer said.
“We go in a separate entrance when we get to the school. We leave through a separate exit when we're done.
“It's awesome that people have figured out a way for us to still play
hockey. It would be very unfortunate if we couldn't.”
DHA vice-president Owen Pighin says there are continual discussions both within their executive group and with other academies about how to make things work.
“We have spent countless hours talking scenarios,” Pighin said. “We want to do the best we can and do it right and have these student-athletes doing something. We're really, really proud that we're making it happen. This is the new world. Is it different? Yes. Is it maybe not as good as last year? Sure."
According to Reimer, the players are quickly learning to police themselves in terms of COVID-19 protocols.
“Between the academy and the rink, I think they have a good system here and I think everyone has adapted about as well as you can,” said Reimer. “We have to make sure we're taking the extra precautions and that everything is how we've been taught it should be.”
Katie Chan, 17, a forward on DHA'S under-18 girls team, added: “Just having the opportunity to be on the ice and in the gym is something that I'm very thankful for.”
Goodwin says parents and fans won't be permitted in the rink to watch games between the B.C. programs.
The CSSHL is allowing only groups of 50 — two teams of 20 players each, plus two coaches on each side, three on-ice officials,
a scorekeeper, a livestreaming broadcaster and a medical person.
According to its own website, Delta Hockey charges up to $19,950 per player for a season. Other academies are similar.
Burnaby, for instance, charges up to $20,500 per player for a season and St. George's is $17,750 for its day students.
West Vancouver was one of the more celebrated academies last season, led by Connor Bedard, the centre who was given exceptional status to play in the WHL in this coming 2020-21 season as a 15-year-old.
The West Vancouver school district cut ties with the academy at the end of the season, citing “concerns about academic success, and other challenges such as student programming and scheduling,” in a letter to parents, according to the North Shore News. The academy tried to move the North Vancouver District, but had trouble garnering support in the middle of COVID-19.
Goodwin wouldn't rule out the academy returning next season.
The CSSHL has programs across the country.
According to the CSSHL website, the inaugural 2009-10 season featured five sport schools and eight total teams spread across two divisions. During the 202021 season, the CSSHL will feature 26 programs and 84 teams in eight divisions.