Teams throughout the Canadian Hockey League revealed on Sunday that exit meetings were being held and players sent home as concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak continued to develop and worsen.
That included the Moose Jaw Warriors, who held their meetings on Saturday, and by Sunday morning had their roster making their way back to their hometowns across western Canada.
Now, it’s just wait and see.
And hope.
“From our end, we’re obviously in full support of the decision by the Western Hockey League and Canadian Hockey League and we’re all trying to best understand the environment we’re in,” said Warriors general manager Alan Millar. “But we certainly know that the health and safety of our players, staff and community are the most important at this time.
“Wins and losses don’t really have any meaning right now and we’ll continue to monitor our players at home and our staff and how we’re handling our business in the coming week.”
The decision was made even more critical when it was revealed Sunday afternoon that two players from the Winnipeg Ice had been tested for COVID-19. The Warriors faced the Ice in Winnipeg on Saturday, Mar. 7, though no players have reported illness as of this writing.
With concern for game-day staff surrounding many of the larger sports leagues in western Canada – leading to announcements like the Edmonton Oilers continuing to pay their staff through the NHL break, and players like the NBA’s Zion Williamson covering staff pay through their own salaries – the Warriors find themselves in a positive situation. Most of their staff are full-time, and with a wide variety of league events on the horizon, work will continue.
“Whether we take the position that we’ll keep the office open or work from home, that’s something we’re discussing,” Millar said. “Our staff still has lots of work to do here, we have the U.S. Draft coming up and the Bantam Draft coming up, and I think there could be some things in terms of discussions and how those take place. Then from our business team, they have lots of planning and strategy ahead from a business and marketing perspective.
The U.S. Draft will take place on Wednesday, Mar. 25, with the Warriors selecting 20th and 25th overall. The Bantam Draft lottery is slated to take place later this month, followed by the Draft itself on May 7.
“So we’ll continue to work and plan, it’s a real important off-season both off and on the ice for our franchise and there’s lots of work to do, so their will be no changes in our staffing at this time.”
One thing is certain in the whole situation: the Canadian Hockey League was among the groups at the forefront of dealing with COVID-19, some Millar expects will continue going forward.
“I think we have real good leadership in our league and across the Canadian Hockey League,” he said. “There’s lots of partners who have been working with their respective provincial, state and country health officials, from the National Hockey League to the CHL and working with Hockey Canada and USA Hockey and so forth. Seeing the quick reaction through all the leagues in a 24 hour period was absolutely the right decision to make for the health and safety for everyone involved.
“Obviously the key thing is to limit this thing and that’s our focus at this time.”
The Warriors – the youngest team in the Canadian Hockey League this season -- will finish the 2019-20 campaign with a 14-44-4-0 record, last in the East Division and second-last in the Eastern Conference.
