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Saturday, July 9, 2022

Notebook: COVID and the Cup

Vincent Ethier/CHL
Did you contract COVID-19 at the 2022 Memorial Cup?

If you did, you are certainly not alone.

As Global News reported this week, "in its latest weekly COVID-19 update, Public Health reported 286 COVID-19 cases confirmed by PCR tests, and 483 positive self-reported POCT tests in Zone 2 alone."

COVID (seemingly, anyways) started to become a problem in the second half of the Memorial Cup. With the exception of players and hockey operations staff, everyone at ice level was asked to wear a mask for the final few days of the tournament. That rule was not in place when the event began.
Very few masks could be spotted at TD Station, which hosted some of the largest indoor gatherings since the pandemic began. Many fans and tournament attendees have reported their positive cases on social media over the past week.

“I wouldn’t necessarily use the word blame," chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell told Global in an interview on Tuesday. "Again, I think the risks increase when you’re in indoor settings, we’ve always known that, and they decrease in outdoor settings. So, when people make choices about gathering, and who they’re gathering with, and whether they’re wearing a mask, etcetera.”

Stay safe out there, folks.

UP NEXT FOR DUFOUR
In an interview with the New York Post, William Dufour said his goal at New York Islanders training camp this fall is to make the NHL club.

“For sure I’m going for it, going to camp with a purpose,” Dufour said. “Everybody’s going there to make the team for sure. I’m gonna do everything I can to try and have a spot and get the results in September.”

If he doesn't make the big club out of camp, Dufour will likely start the year with the American Hockey League's Bridgeport Islanders.

LAWRENCE SAYS GOODBYE
Sea Dogs forward Josh Lawrence, who the team traded last Saturday to complete the Connor Trenholm deal, took to Twitter to say his goodbyes.
Lawrence will play his overage season with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada. The Sea Dogs and Armada play a home-and-home in early December.

PRE-SEASON TICKETS
It's official: the Sea Dogs will play their four pre-season home games at UNB Fredericton's Aitken Centre once again this season.

“Having the 2022 Memorial Cup champions here as we begin to ramp up our hockey season at the Aitken Centre is another amazing opportunity,” said Nick Zildjan, the Rreds' marketing and sales manager, in a news release. “We’ve been fortunate to be able to host them in previous years, but this year, in the wake of their big win, it’s even more special.”
Tickets for all four games will go on sale Tuesday, July 19 at 10 a.m.

WEDDING
Congrats to Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie on getting married last weekend at the Algonquin.
CROWD REACTION
A cool mashup of crowd reaction video from the championship game.


KIA CONTENT
Fredericton Kia out here producing Memorial Cup final content.


LELAND JOINS RAPIDS

Leland has spent the past two seasons as an assistant coach with the Acadie-Bathurst Titan. Prior to that he was the head coach and general manager of the MHL's Campbellton Tigers.

Leland was an assistant coach with the Sea Dogs from 2007 to 2015. He was part of Saint John's championship runs in 2011 and 2012. Leland was spotted around Saint John during the 2022 Memorial Cup.

According to the Rapids, "Leland will begin his duties in late August for the start of the 2022-23 season."

REBRAND
The Western Hockey League's Moose Jaw Warriors have rebranded.
HAPPY 25TH
It's a big year in Bathurst.
OTHER THINGS
  • Winning the Memorial Cup could be huge for William Villeneuve's future with the Toronto Maple Leafs, writes Editor in Leaf.
  • Sea Dogs assistant equipment manager Bradey Williston has been named the Titan's new equipment manager.
  • Sea Dogs goaltender Nikolas Hurtubise is hoping his play this past season will earn him an invite to an NHL development camp, reports La Presse.
  • Sea Dogs captain Vincent Sevigny, who has played his final game of junior hockey, hopes to play professionally next season, writes La Nouvelle Union.
  • 18-year-old forward Jack Campbell, who the Sea Dogs acquired from Cape Breton in the Josh Lawrence trade, on what he wants to bring to the team this fall: “I want to bring some leadership, try to compete every game and play the same way I always do, and be hard to play against,” Campbell told Saltwire. “I want to see if I can create some more offence this year.” 
  • Campbell's younger brother, Ross, was a fourth-round pick of the Charlottetown Islanders in this year's QMJHL Entry Draft. Ross Campbell spent last season with the Charlottetown Knights.
  • Former Sea Dogs defenseman Chase Stewart has re-signed with the ECHL's South Carolina Stingrays. ”I am very excited to be back with the Rays,” said Stewart. “I had an amazing experience on our run to the Kelly Cup Finals a couple years ago. I’ve missed the game a lot the past year and I am very hungry to get back out on the ice. I am looking forward to being back in South Carolina and getting to learn from Coach Kotyk again.” 
  • In a low key move this past week, the Western Hockey League announced that "the 2023 Memorial Cup presented by Kia will be hosted in Kamloops, B.C. from Friday, May 26 to Monday, June 5, 2023." That's a week later than when the tournament is held in normal times.
  • The Cape Breton Eagles are, once again, looking for a new head coach.
  • Simon Olivier, a former assistant coach of the Victoriaville Tigres, has been named head coach of the MHL's Edmundston Blizzard.
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