Canucks cancel skate due to possible exposure
VANCOUVER — The Vancouver Canucks want to finish first in the all-Canadian division this compacted NHL season.
They didn’t want to become the first franchise north of the border to have its training camp paused by coronavirus pandemic concerns — especially with B.C. having much lower infection rates than the four other provinces forming the division.
Instead of two practices, a scrimmage and off-ice workouts Sunday at Rogers Arena — including the Canucks’ debut of professional tryout defenceman Travis Hamonic following his seven-day quarantine after flying from Winnipeg to Vancouver — the club issued the following statement:
“The decision was made out of an abundance of caution due to potential exposure of COVID-19.”
No further details were provided and general manager Jim Benning refused to comment further, telling Postmedia News that he “needed to follow league protocols on this.”
Still, it means there won’t be an immediate explanation as to the exact problem or recognition of which staff or players were possibly implicated as the Canucks became the fourth franchise to be placed on training-camp pause. The others are the Columbus Blue Jackets, Pittsburgh Penguins and Dallas Stars.
Dr. Brian Conway is president
and medical director of the Vancouver Infectious Diseases Centre and an unabashed hockey fan. He grew up in Montreal in awe of the Canadiens and is a Canucks season-ticket subscriber. He can provide some COVID-19 context of what may have occurred in the Canucks’ camp. After all, B.C. reported 617 positive cases Friday. Compare that to 1,183 in Alberta, only 222 in Manitoba but a high positivity rate of 9.7 per cent, to go with 3,799 in Ontario and 2,588 in Quebec. It makes the Vancouver situation somewhat shocking, but the virus is relentless.
“Somebody was in close contact with certain members of the Canucks’ entourage — management and players or both — and they are probably doing enhanced testing to ensure that no transmission has occurred,” said Conway. “I’m potentially reading too much into this, but they talk of a (potential) exposure in the Canucks’ family and that would be my interpretation.
“In all large North American cities, we still have significant community-based transmission of COVID-19. We know in Canada by survey, at least 50 per cent of Canadians didn’t necessarily follow all the public-health regulations during the holiday (Christmas) season — in terms of getting together with friends and family — so this has led to higher transmission rates.
“This is simply reflecting the entire North American landscape. But NHL players and management are instructed in all public-health regulations and are allowed to circulate in society and work (home-rink-home) environments. The enhancements are more testing being done, but it won’t be different than we’re seeing in the general population.”
On Friday, 17 members of the Blue Jackets were held out of practice for COVID-19 concerns and most returned the following day. On Saturday, the Penguins cancelled their practice for the same reason, while the Stars confirmed Friday that six players and two staff members had tested positive.
The Stars’ opening two games against the Panthers in Florida on Thursday and Friday have been postponed.
“The way we minimize it is by tracing to see who they may have been in contact with and use that as an educational opportunity,” stressed Conway. “For the NHL, as I understand it, advanced contact tracing and testing of asymptomatic individuals is in place on an ongoing basis before they are symptomatic.
“And if there is a positive case, or cases, NHL safety protocols call for isolation, repeated testing and contact tracing to limit the virus spread.”
Conway also believes the Canucks’ situation is a cautionary tale for all professional sports leagues. Especially with NHL teams travelling and not being housed in a protective bubble, like they were for post-season play last summer in Edmonton.
The Canucks are scheduled to fly by charter to the Alberta capital today to commence their 56-game regular season Wednesday.
They will stay in a hotel that has enhanced COVID-19 safety measures and not leave the establishment for any reason.