Virus test clean, Voracek returns to the scene
Just one question was all it took to unearth all the feel-good vibes Jake Voracek was soaking in Sunday.
So Jake, did it feel good to get out on that practice ice?
“Feel good,” Voracek said. He knew that he should.
“You guys panic so much it’s not even funny,” Voracek added. “You guys make it sound like I’m dying or something. Everything’s fine.”
Everything’s Jake with Voracek, then. Got it. Twitter alert and all that.
Apparently, not all was cool Saturday, though, when it was announced by the team that Voracek would be “unavailable” for that day’s intrasquad scrimmage. Then it was noted that no further information would be available on that development.
In the era of coronavirus and social media and navigating the fine line of HIPAA laws and zippered-shut sports injury reporting, it was promptly speculated that maybe all wasn’t well with Voracek and all those virus tests that are going on.
Of course, since no one was allowed to officially clarify anything about that ... who knew?
As it turned out, Voracek turned up Sunday, with the explanation that a test result from Friday had been determined inconclusive, which meant he had to skip the scrimmage to get tested again on Saturday.
“I did another (test) yesterday and it came back negative this morning,” Voracek said via a media video chat. “There was nothing wrong. Everything’s all
right.”
Voracek wouldn’t normally be bothered by such trivial matters as speculative media reports, his usual response to such things being unfollowing a reporter for a month or two. But there’s no question the whole idea of playing hockey in a Toronto bubble with the virus bopping around North America adds a layer of concern to everything.
“In some kind of way, you want to protect the player’s privacy, right?” Voracek said. “Say if you get it, not everyone has to know it. If you decide not to share it with everyone, that’s OK to keep it to yourself and close friends and family. That’s what’s wrong with this world today. Everyone seems entitled to know everything about each other.
“It’s not a bad thing to have some privacy sometimes. I mean, do you know all the cases every day that are diagnosed? Do you know all the people and everything about them? No, (because) somebody wants to keep it quiet. If you guys want to ask me what happened, ask me. I will tell you. You don’t have to dance around it.”
Sounds kind of logical. If you wish to have clarification on a sticky bit of player news, ask the player ... (presuming you’re lucky enough to find him on a video chat) ... because the team bosses aren’t about to tell you.
Either way, Voracek was healthy, ready and willing Sunday to weigh in on media paranoia and other matters ... such as hockey.
“We played a lot of scrimmages in the summer so that’s helping,” he said.
“Kind of gets the timing a little earlier than in training camp. I was kind of (ticked) I missed the scrimmage yesterday because the more scrimmages you get in, it’s better. It is what it is. Nothing I could do about it.”
Which, of course, brought him back to the speculative reports of why he missed Saturday’s scrimmage. Still a little touchy on that subject.
“We’re here to play hockey,” Voracek said. “It’s your decision if you want share it with the world or not. I know we are in a different situation than normal people, but on the
other hand, it’s our health. If we decide to share it with someone then that’s up to you. If you don’t want to share it, you don’t have to. It’s like I said, I know you have to write about it and talk about it, but on the other hand, we are people, too. We deserve to have some privacy as well, especially in times like that. I’m completely up with that. I think it’s the right decision. If you want to share it, you can. But I’m the kind of guy if you ask me, I’ll probably tell you.”
OK, and as hockey part ...
Voracek has drilled mostly at right wing of the top line, next to center Sean Couturier and left wing Claude Giroux. Seems a good place to start.
“Practices look pretty good, but then you go into the game and it’s a completely different rodeo,” Voracek said. “It’s going to depend on how well-prepared the other teams are. In practice, when we do the scrimmage or when we do the drills, I think it’s a highpaced practice.
“Obviously, it’s going to be a completely different ballgame when you step on the ice for a game.” for that