Showing posts with label Quebec Bubble. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Quebec Bubble. Show all posts

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

More travel issues for the QMJHL

Two more Maritimes Division teams are officially on a break from game play.

The Charlottetown Islanders and Halifax Mooseheads will both be unable to play home or away games due to travel restrictions that were confirmed on Tuesday. They join the Moncton Wildcats and Saint John Sea Dogs as Maritime clubs currently on the sidelines due to restrictions.

The restrictions for Prince Edward Island and the Halifax area will last for at least two weeks and then be reevaluated. The Moncton and Saint John regions are both in the orange phase for an undetermined amount of time.

The Mooseheads did not play this past Saturday and postponed Wednesday's scheduled game after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19.
The Islanders, meanwhile, appeared poised to play this Wednesday on home ice, announcing Monday they had received an exemption from the provincial government to continue playing. The province said in a since deleted social media post Monday night that the Islanders had in fact not been granted any kind of exemption. On Tuesday morning, the Isles confirmed that they would not be playing any games while PEI remains outside the Atlantic Bubble.

Positive case numbers continue to creep up in the Saint John and Moncton areas - although at a slower pace than what we saw a few days ago. At a news conference on Tuesday, provincial health officials said there would be more positive cases in the coming days, which doesn't bode well for a quick return to the yellow phase.

Tuesday, November 17, 2020

Notebook: Quebec bubble begins

Jonathan Roy/QMJHL
The QMJHL's Quebec City "protected environment" kicked off on Tuesday afternoon with the Blainville-Boisbriand Armada taking on the Victoriaville Tigres.

It was just the third game of the season for the Armada and their first match since Oct. 4.

The Armada, Tigres, Drummondville Voltigeurs, Quebec Remparts, Gatineau Olympiques, Shawinigan Cataractes and Chicoutimi Sagueneens are all taking part in the event. Games count towards the regular season standings. There was some concern about the Voltigeurs joining due to an undetermined COVID-19 test result, but the club received clearance on Tuesday.

The league also announced that the Rouyn-Noranda Huskies and Val-d'Or Foreurs will venture outside their divisions this weekend, travelling to Baie-Comeau and Rimouski. The four cities are currently not in Quebec's red zone classification. The Sherbrooke Phoenix, who have been red zoned and didn't have time to meet the Quebec City bubble requirements, will be the only team sidelined this week.

Phoenix head coach and general manager Stephane Julien was not overly optimistic about his team returning to action anytime soon, telling Le Tribune that he doesn't expect the club to play another game in the calendar year.

MORE ON HUGHES
The Sea Dogs announced Monday that 16-year-old forward Simon Hughes "will join the Sea Dogs later this week and will begin training and practicing with the club."

News came out Sunday that Hughes, a second-round pick of Saint John in June's QMJHL Entry Draft, had signed with the Sea Dogs after parting ways with his US prep school.

“We’re happy to welcome Simon and his family to Saint John,” said Sea Dogs president and general manager Trevor Georgie in a news release. “He adds size, skill, and offensive depth to our team. He’s only 16 and hasn’t played or practiced for a number of weeks so we will be patient with him. Our coaching and training staff will work with him over the coming weeks to get him into game shape and help him adjust to the pace and life of a Major Junior player.”