SYDNEY, N.S. — In a typical year, the Cape Breton Eagles would be preparing for Quebec Major Junior Hockey League games this weekend, but that’s not the case today.
Instead, the team is only on the ice at Centre 200 practising and patiently waiting to find out when they’ll be able to return to game action against fellow Maritime Division teams.
With rising cases of COVID-19 and travel restrictions in place in both Prince Edward Island and parts of New Brunswick, the Eagles home games against the Charlottetown Islanders and Moncton Wildcats have been postponed for this weekend.
The postponement comes less than a week after the team’s games were also postponed in Moncton as the city remained at the orange level of New Brunswick’s COVID-19 recovery plan.
Along with the postponements came a precautionary two-day break after the club learned a staff member for the Saint John Sea Dogs – a team the Eagles had played on Nov. 18 in Sydney – had tested positive for the Coronavirus.
Fortunately for the Eagles, none of the players or staff has had COVID-19 symptoms since playing the Sea Dogs and are believed to be virus-free for the time being.
With the ever-changing developments over the past seven days, Eagles general manager Jacques Carrière admits it’s been hard from management and player perspectives.
“I don’t know how many times things have changed in the last week and even more so in the last four days,” said Carrière.
“Not knowing when or what the next evolution will be or when the next team activity is, it’s hard on the players, but there’s no complaining from them – Jake (Grimes) and the coaching staff have been doing a great job trying to keep the players on top of the situation.”
Although health officials considered the Eagles players and staff at low-risk after the Sea Dogs game, the club cancelled activities, including team practice, on Nov. 19 and Nov. 20.
The team returned to the ice for practice last Saturday and have been on the ice ever since preparing for when they are permitted to resume gameplay.
Despite the uncertainty, Carrière said the players have remained positive throughout the ongoing situation and understand what’s happening.
“The structure that our players have, they know what they have to do, they know when their playing and practising, and when their training off the ice, but all this has thrown a hammer in the toolbox,” he said.
“The players prepare for something and close to last-minute things change, it’s not easy for them, but they know it’s the way the COVID-19 situation has been evolving in our league, but also in our community.”
While some Maritime teams are unable to practice, Carrière said the Eagles are fortunate to still be able to be on the ice, which is helping to keep them prepared and confident.
“They want to play hockey,” he said. “With the low amount of cases in Cape Breton right now, we can still practice so at least it puts the players on the ice and in the gym, it’s a plus for them.”
As of now, four of the six teams are unable to play due to COVID-19 restrictions – Charlottetown, Moncton, Halifax and Saint John. Cape Breton and Acadie-Bathurst are the only teams still currently allowed to play in the Maritimes.
Since the start of training camp in August, players and personnel in contact with them including billet families have been required to complete a daily COVID-19 screening application as part of the QMJHL’s return-to-play protocol.
Carrière said whenever someone triggers any kind of symptoms related to COVID-19, an alarm is set off and sent to the club’s medical team and to the league for actions to be taken.
“Any time there’s an onset of any kind of symptoms, right away there’s action taken,” he said. “We’ve had alarms, but nothing has been major and it’s all been good. Different symptoms require different actions, some of them are minor and some of them are major.”
Meanwhile, on the ice, Cape Breton currently sits in fourth place in the Maritime Division with a 7-8-0-0 record, one point behind the Halifax Mooseheads for third place.
Captain Shawn Element has been one of the hottest players in the league with a 15-game point streak dating back to the start of the season on Oct. 2. The 20-year-old has nine goals and 28 points.
Element leads in the league in points to date but is trailed closely by Charlottetown’s Cédric Desruisseaux, who currently has a 14-game point streak dating back to early October.
Cape Breton’s Félix Lafrance and Nathan Larose are tied with Islanders’ Thomas Casey with the most power-play goals (5) to date. Element (19), Jarrett Baker (16) and Ryan Francis (15) are in the top five in assists this season.
The Eagles’ special teams have been among the best in the league. Cape Breton’s power play is second overall in the QMJHL at 34 per cent, only behind Charlottetown (34.5). Meanwhile, the penalty kill is seventh in the league at 84.9 per cent.
For now, Carrière said all the team can do is be patient and wait for the next developments.
“I think there’s a league meeting on Monday, but we’ll see where that’s going,” he said. “At one point, the Quebec teams weren’t playing and the Maritime teams were, not it’s the other way around, the Quebec teams are playing and the Maritime teams are not.”
Cape Breton is scheduled to play Saint John on Dec. 3 in Saint John. A decision on that game has not yet been made by the QMJHL. The Eagles are also scheduled to play Acadie-Bathurst on Dec. 4 and Dec. 5 in Bathurst, N.B.
Jeremy Fraser is the sports reporter for the Cape Breton Post. He's been with the publication for four years. Follow Jeremy on Twitter @CBPost_Jeremy
