Just when it looked like the Warman U18 AAA Wildcats were getting on track after the team picked up its first win, league play was suspended because of the new sports and activities guidelines.
Even though league play has been suspended the Wildcats can still practise in groups of eight.
A season like this is challenging for any team but it’s especially hard for an inaugural team like the Wildcats. Not only does the organization have to worry about establishing itself, but it has to do all of that during a pandemic.
Being a brand new club during a pandemic really has an impact on the logistics side, such as fan attendance, sponsorships, and team building events, as there were several guidelines put in place before the suspension of the season.
Not being able to play games isn’t ideal, however, all teams in the Saskatchewan Male U18 AAA Hockey League (SMAAAHL) are in the same situation, but the majority of those clubs are established organizations.
The players can’t practice as a full team, but they still have the opportunity to train even though the season is suspended.
This being a new team, it is important the players develop that on ice chemistry with each other and the condensed practices can affect them from doing that.
Since eight players can only be on the ice at a time, players don’t have the opportunity to skate with other teammates on a consistent bases.
The Wildcats played six games before the suspension of the season and the players were starting to find that team chemistry.
Hopefully that chemistry is still there if the season starts up again.
Even though it’s great that the Wildcats can work on their skills and run certain training exercises, the players still can’t participate in the physical drills because everybody has to be at least three-metres a part from each other at all times during the practice.
This season was going to be a memorable one for the Wildcats no matter what, since it was the first year of the team, but it will be one to remember because of all the challenges the organization had to go through during this pandemic.
The province recently has been averaging over 200 new COVID-19 cases a day and those numbers need to decrease for any sports leagues in the province to likely start up again.
The province will review the recent guidelines and the COVID-19 situation on December 17. But if the SMAAAHL was allowed to start up again after that evaluation, it probably wouldn’t be until the new year.
All teams in the league were scheduled to play their final games on December 13 before the Christmas break.
Hopefully, the Wildcats can return to the ice for league play because a lot of work went in to establishing the organization and it would be a shame if the season does get cancelled.