OLDS — Grizzlys head coach-GM Scott Atkinson is pleased that the Alberta Junior Hockey League plans to start its new season this fall, but he wonders how it will work out as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.
Earlier this month, the league announced plans to begin its 57th regular season in September “should provincial health regulations allow.”
A schedule for this year’s exhibition season will be announced in August.
The 14th annual AJHL Showcase, originally scheduled for Sept. 24 – 26 in Camrose, has been tentatively rescheduled to Jan. 5-7.
If the season runs its course, playoffs will begin March 5.
“Certainly the idea that we’re attempting to start on Sept. 1 is aggressive, I would say -- which I support, but it’s aggressive,” Atkinson said during an interview.
After going down for some time, COVID-19 cases in Alberta have begun to rise again as the provincial economy has opened up.
“I don’t understand how the league’s going to play if, like, OK, you and I are on two different teams and then after the game, one of the guys on my team tests positive,” Atkinson said.
“So that means my team has to isolate for 14 days and your team has to isolate for 14 days and we still have games the next day against different teams. I don’t get how that’s going to work.
“There’s no answer for it. Christ himself can’t give you the answer. It’s all dependent on what’s happening,” he added.
Atkinson said the situation is equally murky when it comes to the Grizzlys’ bantam talent camp, tentatively scheduled to be held Aug. 7-9 and the rookie identification camp, scheduled to be held Aug. 14-16. Both camps are slated to be held at the Olds Sportsplex.
It’s tough to plan for these camps because the rules seem to change, almost daily, Atkinson said.
“What’s Alberta Health going to let us do, what’s the facility going to let us do? What’s Hockey Alberta, Hockey Canada (going to let us do),’” he asked.
The hockey school is a real conundrum.
For example, ideally, players would be socially distanced.
“Well that’s good, but you really can’t do many of the things that you would normally do in a camp that require battling and compete level and also just basically playing the game, you know, having fun,” Atkinson said.
“So the kids’ camp changes to a skill session, which is good for the kids. But you know, kids are kids. I mean, how long is that going to keep them engaged and how much fun are they going to have? Because fun’s a big part of it in my mind,” he added.
“You want people to get value for what they’re doing and yet they have to understand it can’t be the same.”
Planning for the Grizzlys camp is equally difficult.
“When you take a look at the numbers it doesn’t seem like the younger age groups are at risk and yet, that’s not a guarantee,” Atkinson said.
“It’s no different than them opening the restaurants and bars, right? Everything’s fine until someone gets sick and then all of a sudden it seems like it spreads like wildfire.
“They’re in very condensed kind of situations, so if you can stay away from that, obviously that’s what you’re trying to do. But if it happens, then that kind of blows things up.
“I mean, it’s easy to talk in generalities, but then if someone in my family died, I wouldn’t be very happy if we were sort of taking unnecessary risks with them, right? So it’s a difficult puzzle,” he added.
Atkinson also wonders what will happen when the Grizzlys decide to release a player. Theoretically, that player would have to wait 14 days before reporting to another team.
“It’s just a little bit of an odd year; challenging,” he said.
AJHL vice-president of communications Charla Flett was asked for the league's response to Atkinson's concerns.
In an email, she indicated that the league is still fleshing out the details of the upcoming season.
"We are working on a comprehensive plan that includes the guidelines from AHS (Alberta Health Services), Hockey Canada and Hockey Alberta to address every scenario," she wrote.
"Once we receive confirmation of a start date through the province, we will outline the details of our return to play plan."
