It feels like Groundhog Day around the Prince George Cougars’ camp.
Another day, another postponement.
Just days after the Cougars learned they were forced to put off a weekend series at CN Centre against the Victoria Royals, today and Saturday, the WHL announced Friday afternoon the Cougars’ games next Tuesday and Wednesday against the Kelowna Rockets have also been postponed.
They are among 15 teams in the league whose activities have been put on pause as a result of multiple players and staff being added to the WHL COVID-19 protocol list after exhibiting symptoms or having tested positive for COVID-19.
“The WHL and our member clubs remain fully committed to playing through the 68-game WHL regular season schedule and playoffs,” said WHL commissioner Ron Robison, in a league release posted at 2 p.m. PT.
“As we work through the challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, our priority continues to be to deliver a world-class development experience for WHL players, staff, and officials, and to do so in a safe and healthy manner. On behalf of the entire WHL, I wish to thank WHL fans and WHL corporate partners everywhere for their patience as we work to reschedule games in the coming weeks.”
The Cougars are stuck in a pandemic limbo, just like they were March 2020 when the COVID crisis was just starting to rock their world. Since Wednesday, when several players showed positive rapid antigen tests for COVID, the team has been in quarantine, unable to practice, play games or gather for any team activities.
The teams now on pause are the Cougars, Calgary Hitmen, Edmonton Oil Kings, Everett Silvertips, Kamloops Blazers, Medicine Hat Tigers, Moose Jaw Warriors, Prince Albert Raiders, Red Deer Rebels, Regina Pats, Saskatoon Blades, Spokane Chiefs, Tri-City Americans, Victoria Royals and Winnipeg ICE.
In addition to the two Prince George-Kelowna games, the league has postponed six others.
The Cougars players, coaches and staff had PCR tests for COVID on Wednesday and sent the test samples for processing through Canada Post express mail service to DynaLIFE Labs in Edmonton. But as of Friday, the package had yet to be delivered due to a surge of Canada Post staff showing COVID symptoms which has kept them off the job. The lab is not open on weekends and the Cougars fear the samples won’t be processed until Monday or Tuesday – too late to plan for hosting the Kelowna games next week.
In the WHL’s weekly report posted on Monday, seven Royals players were placed in COVID protocol, and Prince George minor hockey product Scott Cousins was the only Rocket listed to be observing COVID isolation. No Cougars were on that list, but that obviously changed as the week progressed.
“There’s noting confirmed yet until we get our PCR tests back, but there’s red flags,” said Cougars head coach and general manager Mark Lamb. “We’re shut down until we know exactly who’s got it. Sometimes there’s no symptoms. We’ve had some sickness, it’s hard to tell the difference. (Defenceman Keaton) Dowhaniuk was sick, but he was negative on those tests. Until we get these results back we have no idea.”
Having just played four games in five nights coming off the Christmas break, the Cougars practiced on Monday and had a day off Tuesday, anticipating they were about to begin another four-games, five-nights segment of their schedule. But after a couple positive rapid tests the alarm bells went off.
With four games now to reschedule, there’s not a lot of flexibility in the Cougars’ schedule between now and the end of the regular season on April 3 to make those dates up, and with so many teams now in COVID protocols, there’s a good chance the league will have to extend the regular season by at least a week or two.
But until they get those test results, the Cougars can’t even practice.
“We’ve had couple pre-game skates but we really haven’t had a good practice since December 8, where we had the whole team,” said Lamb. “That’s how busy it’s been with the travel, and that was the week of the WHL draft, when we got to practice. This was a real good week for us to practice, and now this happens.”
The Cougars are still without defenceman Aiden Reeves, who took a shot in the foot in a game against in Kamloops and will be out another four-to-six weeks. He’s the only injured player not available to the team.
Jonas Brondberg, a 20-year-old defenceman from Denmark, obtained in a trade last week that sent 20-year-old goalie Taylor Gauthier to Portland, gave Prince Geprge fans their first look at him in a Cougars’ uniform a week ago in a 4-3 shootout loss to Kamloops at CN Centre.
Lamb says Brondberg came as advertised - a big, talented puck-moving defenceman who brings a rare commodity to the Cats – WHL experience. This is his third year in the league and he’s expected to be a settling influence on the youngest team in the WHL The Cougars three 20-year-olds – Connor Bowie, Jonny Hooker and Brondberg – are the only players on the team who have been in the league for at least one full season.
“What we didn’t have is age and experience and he’s a real good all-around player and think he’s exactly what we needed back there,” said Lamb. “We’re young, and coming from a real good organization, he’s going to add a lot. He’s played different roles in his career and he’s a pretty good offensive player He can move the puck, he knows what to do on the power play, he’s a good penalty-killer and a real good passer with lots of offensive instincts.”
Adding Brondberg to the roster forced the Cougars to part ways with one of their other imports and 18-year-old Swiss winger Liekit Reichle was put on waivers when they chose to keep 17-year-old defenceman Viliam Kmec. Reichle, chosen 23rd overall in the 2021 CHL import draft, was claimed by the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
The WHL’s roster deadline is on Jan. 17 and Lamb says he’s prepared to make more deals if it helps make the team better.
