The bottom line is there will be QMJHL hockey in the fall.
It won’t be exactly what fans are used to - if there are even any people in the rinks at all at the start - but it’s way better than nothing. The first league games are expected to be played on October 1.
“I think it’s going to be different from province to province and the rules are constantly changing,” Mooseheads general manager Cam Russell said about whether there will be fans in the arena. “But just to be able to get back to playing is a huge positive. We haven’t played junior hockey in over five months and we’re excited to get back. We’re taking all the precautions and doing everything we can and we’re working closely with everyone in the medical field to make it work.
“It’s just nice to get back to a little bit of normalcy. It’s been a tough five months for everybody. We’ve worked hard towards this and we’re going to keep working at it to make sure it works.”
Just to be able to have a quasi-normal season, the Quebec league had to make significant adjustments and compromises. Teams will be limited to five opponents within their division for the entire regular season, the schedule will be shortened by eight games, training camps will only have about half as many players us usual and there will only be limited crowds in some arenas - or none at all.
Canadian players all reported to their teams on the weekend and will be able to hit the ice by Aug. 30 after a two-week quarantine.
“We’ve put them in a hotel and they can’t leave their rooms and all their meals are delivered, so it’s a full quarantine,” Russell said. “It’s all part of the return to play plan. If you want to play, these are the rules and guidelines you have to follow. We all know how serious it is.”
American and European players don’t yet have government clearance to travel to Canada. For the Mooseheads, that means centre Zack Jones remains in Massachusetts and Senna Peeters and Attilio Biasca are still in Europe with no real idea when they’ll be able to travel here. None of the other American players on Halifax’s protected list will be coming to camp, either.
“(German-born Samuel) Dube’s here but he holds a Canadian passport so he got in,” Russell said. “But it’s still a bit of a process working on the Americans and the Europeans. We’ll just have to be patient.
“We’re still in uncharted territory here so we’re just going to have to keep working at it as we go.”
Unless something changes in the near future, the Mooseheads will only play the Bathurst Titan, Cape Breton Eagles, Moncton Wildcats, Charlottetown Islanders and Saint John Sea Dogs during the regular season. The set-up deprives fans of the chance to see teams from Quebec but it’s the safest way to have a league at this stage.
“It’s just like the Original Six,” Russell joked. “That’s how hockey started, with just six teams. It will make some really good rivalries, not just with one team but with all five of them. That’s the safest, best scenario for our league right now and I think it will go well.”
Teams are restricted to 34 players at training camp but the Mooseheads didn’t even invite that many because three of their spots are reserved for Peeters, Biasca and Jones. But their top draft picks and key returnees are all here.
The Mooseheads open the pre-season on the road on Sept. 1 against the Cape Breton Eagles. The teams play each other again on Sept. 3 at the RBC Centre in Dartmouth.
All practices, scrimmages and pre-season games will be closed to the general public but the team is working on creating a free digital viewing option.
