Editor’s Note: One year ago, our worlds changed. The first cases of COVID-19 struck in Atlantic Canada and the governments of P.E.I., Nova Scotia and Newfoundland closed businesses and put safety measures in place to keep people safe, which had a ripple effect on our livelihood and economy. This week, we’ll take a look back at how we lived, loved, worked, played and changed over the past year, and what lessons we’ve learned as we move forward.
Jack Cashen didn’t want to believe what he was hearing.
The Sydney Mitsubishi Rush goaltender had been looking forward to playing in the 2021 Telus Cup national under-18 championship this April in Membertou, N.S.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic forced Hockey Canada to change the team’s tournament hosting rights to 2022 - meaning Cashen and his fellow third-year players wouldn’t be able to participate in the event.
“It was definitely a challenge for us when we found out it wasn’t going to happen this year,” said the 17-year-old. “We all couldn’t wait for the tournament, and we all put in the hard work. To have it taken away from us like that was disappointing.”
Cashen, like most athletes in Atlantic Canada, has had his daily training routine impacted by COVID-19 restrictions last year, which saw gyms and arenas close to limit the spread of the virus.
“It was tough, both physically and mentally,” said Cashen, a 14th-round draft pick of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League’s Cape Breton Eagles.
“I didn’t feel like I was getting any better in my development, and not being at the gym for a longer period of time, it was extremely tough mentally.”
As he tried to stay in shape during the lockdown, the New Waterford product was successful in training as much as he could at home, preparing for his second training camp with the Eagles.
“It was definitely scary for me because I didn’t know how I’d do or if I was ready for the camp, and frankly, I didn’t know what to expect with everything happening,” said Cashen.
“Once I got out on the ice on the first day of training camp, I got my feet wet, and everything came back to me, and overall, I was happy with my performance.”
Cashen would later be reassigned to the Rush for the 2020-2021 season. Injuries to the Eagles’ No. 1 goaltender, William Grimard, saw Cashen recalled as the club’s back up to Nicolas Ruccia.
One more kick at the can
Unlike Cashen, Jeff Reeves has played in his fair share of national championship tournaments.
The Dartmouth, N.S., native has appeared in nine senior national baseball championships over his career, including seven with his Dartmouth Moosehead Dry and single appearances with the Halifax Pelham Canadians and Sydney Sooners.
The right-handed pitcher was anticipating playing at the senior national championship with the Moosehead Dry last season, when the event was scheduled to be hosted by Sydney in August 2020.
However, the event was ultimately cancelled by Baseball Canada because of the pandemic.
“I was hoping to have one last kick at the can with nationals, especially when it was going to be in Cape Breton,” said Reeves, who turned 40 last month.
“I don’t think anyone could really be upset with the situation, given the pandemic – it is what it is. It’s disappointing, but at the same time, it’s the way life goes sometimes.”
Although the Nova Scotia Senior Baseball League cancelled its 2020 season, Reeves, who pitched in nationals in Nova Scotia in 2010 in Dartmouth, stayed active with early morning golf while also preparing his two young boys for their baseball careers.
“We’re fortunate in Nova Scotia to have had the ability to still have some sort of activity with the kids in baseball,” said Reeves. “Several of us run pitching clinics and camps in the area and the kids were able to learn from some experienced baseball guys.”
Although he’s focused on whether there will be a 2021 senior baseball season in Nova Scotia, Reeves is hopeful he’ll still be pitching when the 2022 national championship is hosted in Cape Breton.
“I’m still working out and still throwing and definitely coaching,” said Reeves. “I hope to be an active participant in 2022, striving for Nova Scotia to win a national title again.”
Shut-out by COVID-19
One year after winning the league championship in 2019, Dean MacDonald had hoped his Newfoundland Growlers would have the opportunity to repeat as the ECHL’s Kelly Cup champions last season.
Unfortunately, when the pandemic hit in mid-March, the league was still in its regular season. The global crisis forced the cancellation of the remainder of its season and playoffs, with no championship awarded.
This season, border and local restrictions forced the Growlers to opt out of playing. It's meant a big hit financially for the St. John's-based team.
“The team would generate - between sponsorship and ticket sales - in the neighbourhood of $5 million, so basically, that’s gone to zero,” said MacDonald.
“We were halfway through our second year when we got shut down, so we probably would have had losses in the second year, but those losses are much greater now.”
Despite the decline in revenue, the Growlers’ front office staff continued working throughout the pandemic, as MacDonald was approved for two new ECHL franchises: one in Trois-Rivières, Que., and the other in Coralville, Iowa. Both teams will hit the ice this fall.
“There was a ton of work to get those franchises up and running. The folks who are part of the front office are people we didn’t want to lose – and it’s been costly because we have no revenue coming in – but those people are really important to us," MacDonald said.
“For the first few months, we were leaning on our existing staff to help with the other two franchises, but there was only so much we could do.”
MacDonald is optimistic the Growlers will be back on the ice when the ECHL regular season opens in November.
“That’s assuming and praying that everything goes according to plan with vaccine rollouts and all the health protocols in place,” said MacDonald. “We hope we can be back to as close as normal as possible, but it’s still anyone’s guess.”
When asked if he’d be willing to allow the Growlers to start the season with no fans in attendance, if public health restrictions are in place, MacDonald said he'd have to think about it.
“It’s all really going to be game-time decisions,” he said.
Training in B.C and Hawaii
While indoor events were cancelled or postponed due to the pandemic, Martin Sobey was able to continue to train in triathlon.
The Charlottetown, P.E.I. athlete moved to Victoria, B.C. in 2016 to train at Triathlon Canada’s performance centre in hopes of one day wearing the country’s colours at the Summer Olympics.
Although some aspects of his training were impacted, the 24-year-old was still able to train outdoors throughout the spring, summer, and fall.
“I guess I’m fortunate that a lot of my training requires the outdoors, but things were certainly still different,” said Sobey, who became involved in triathlon in 2013.
“I was out of the water for 12 weeks – our pool was closed in Victoria – and our gyms were closed for 12-to-16 weeks and I had to train by myself until mid-summer.”
When the pandemic hit, Sobey considered returning to Prince Edward Island, but eventually decided to remain in Western Canada for training purposes.
“I was still able to bike and run outside, and I was thankful for that,” said Sobey. “I know there are other places in the world where a lot of people had to stay inside or stay close to home.”
Earlier this year, Sobey and four other male triathletes relocated from Victoria to Hawaii to continue their training during the winter.
“We looked at remaining in Victoria, and that was a very good option, but with Tokyo predicted to be warm-weather games, we felt it would be best to prepare somewhere with similar conditions.”
Although many picture Hawaii as a vacation destination, Sobey isn’t sitting on the beach with a little umbrella in a drink.
“The first day I arrived, the sun was beautiful and there were beaches everywhere, but it quickly became less of a vacation feeling and more of a training camp,” laughed Sobey.
“We formed a very tight bubble with our teammates so we aren’t really experiencing too much outside of training, but we are still seeing a lot while we were out riding and running.”
Meanwhile, back in Cape Breton, Cashen has since moved past the Telus Cup cancellation disappointment and is focused on helping his Rush teammates win games for the remainder of the 2020-2021 season.
“Right now, we’re focusing on winning games and nothing else,” said Cashen. “We’re all staying positive and worrying about the things we can control right now, and that’s playing hockey and winning.”
Some of the 2020-2021 sporting events cancelled in Atlantic Canada:
- 2020 U Sports Women’s Hockey Championship – Charlottetown, P.E.I
- 2020 U Sports University Cup Men’s Hockey Championship – Halifax, N.S.
- 2020 IIHF World Women’s Hockey Championship – Halifax, N.S.
- 2020 and 2021 - Vince Ryan Memorial Scholarship Hockey Tournament – Cape Breton
- 2020 – Don Johnson Memorial Cup Junior ‘B’ Atlantic Championship – Cocagne, N.B.
- 2020 Adult National Darts Championship – Sydney, N.S.
- 2020 Bill Brown Canadian Dart Open Tournaments – Sydney, N.S.
- 2020 MacKenzie PGA Tour – Cardigan, P.E.I.
- 2020 STIHL Timbersports Canadian Championship – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
- 2020 Canadian Senior Little League Championship – Sydney Mines, N.S.
- 2020 Royal Canadian Legion Track and Field National Championship – Sydney, N.S.
- Under-15 and Under-17 Canada Basketball National Championship – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
- 2020 - Under-16 and Under-18 National Flag Football Championships – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
- 2020 Baseball Canada Senior National Championship – Sydney, N.S.
- 2020 St. John’s Regatta – St. John’s, N.L.
- 2020 Under-16 Girls Canadian Fast-Pitch Championship – Charlottetown, P.E.I.
- 2020 RBC PGA Scramble – Inverness, N.S.
- 2020 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge – Charlottetown and Summerside, P.E.I.
- 2020 U Sports Women’s National Soccer Championship – Sydney, N.S.
- 2021 U Sports Final 8 Basketball Championship – Halifax, N.S.
- 2021 – Don Johnson Memorial Cup Junior ‘B’ Atlantic Championship – Liverpool, N.S.
- 2021 Telus Cup national under-18 Hockey Championship – Membertou, N.S.
Note: Various other provincial and local tournaments in Atlantic Canada were also cancelled due to the pandemic
