Sudbury –
It’s been a busy day for the Sudbury Wolves, who trained after several weeks of hiatus.
The team will face the Soo Greyhounds on Wednesday night. It will be over a month since their last game; the Wolves were the first Canadian Hockey League team to be sidelined due to COVID-19.
“I think that we have earned the dubious honor of becoming the first CHL team to make a breakthrough is a credit to our coach Dan Buckland,” said head coach Craig Duncanson.
“He tests guys regularly, watches them regularly, he’s very strict on the room watch and he picked it up early and found it so that we don’t infect anyone outside of our group. Society is learning. that no one is safe here. “
Fourteen players caught the disease during the outbreak. Duncanson said cases ranged from asymptomatic to mild – something similar to the flu – for a day or two.
While this gave them a lot of downtime, they did what they could to keep busy.
“We had to do our mid-season review with each of the coaches with each of the players and spend some one-on-one time that would be on Zoom,” said Duncanson.
“I think we created as positive an atmosphere as possible. Derek MacKenzie joined the boys one day for a question and answer session, as did Randy Carlyle, so it was a treat for all of us.”
“Yeah, it’s tough, we all want to play hockey, that’s why we’re here, nobody wants to sit in their house and on the couch,” Wolves captain Jack Thompson said.
“So it’s obviously difficult in that sense, but we made the most of it. It was fun.”
Thompson said they get Zoom calls three times a day, so they always benefit from that team environment. For the captain, however, it was also bittersweet. The epidemic forced the 19-year-old to miss his final year of trying for the World Juniors.
“Yeah, it’s tough,” he said. “I mean, I still have some buddies on this team, so obviously I’m going to support them. You know, I wish I could be there, it’s a tough situation that happened, but I understand.”
“We’re a little disappointed that Jack isn’t here, but we’re Canadians and he’s a pro,” said Duncanson. “It’s a bit of a hit but it won’t hold him back. He’s a strong man.”
In addition to cheering on Team Canada, the focus is now on the Sudbury Wolves’ 40+ games left.
Both men said they would be ready by the time of the game. If they’ve learned anything from the experience, Duncanson said they can’t predict how the rest of the season will go, let alone what will happen tomorrow.
“We were really hoping to have a game before Christmas, but that didn’t materialize,” he said.
“So now there will be a little rust, it will be a little scary but I’m sure it will be gone in a very short time.”
“I skated a few times over the Christmas break, but it’s nice to be back here with the team and in the hall, trying to rebuild something,” said Thompson.
“I know because taking a month off it feels like it’s been a year since we’ve been together. So it’s a little different but I think we’re ready to play now. . “
The puck falls at Wednesday night’s game in Sault Ste. Marie at 7:07 am at GFL Memorial Gardens.
“Evil alcohol lover. Twitter junkie. Future teen idol. Reader. Food aficionado. Introvert. Coffee evangelist. Typical bacon enthusiast.”