Ontario Hockey League (OHL) teams, including the Barrie Colts, will continue to play amid new restrictions handed down by the provincial government this week.
The OHL board of governors met Wednesday morning to address next steps in light of the recent order issued by the Ontario government, which took effect today.
Colts majority owner Howie Campbell said he agrees with the OHL’s decision.
“It keeps our players playing… you want to keep the kids moving,” he said Wednesday. “A lot of them have careers at stake and a lot of them have a lot of ambitions to go play pro hockey.
“So we don’t want to shut them down; we want to keep them playing,” Campbell added.
And while the games will continue, there will be no fans allowed under the provincial restrictions taking effect today.
“It’s unfortunate that we can’t have fans, but I think that will just be a short(-term) thing anyway,” Campbell said, noting capacity at Sadlon Arena is about 4,300 for hockey.
“We believe it to be a short-term measure, so we can slowly ease back into having fans in the building,” he added.
Who else, besides Colts players, coaches and other team officials would be allowed in Sadlon Arena for home games has not yet been determined, Campbell said.
“Right now, we are working on that with the province,” he said. “The province still hasn’t ruled on that officially yet, so we’re waiting to hear news from that.”
Campbell said he's confident that once fans are allowed back into Sadlon Arena, it can be done safely.
“The measures are all there, our return-to-play protocols are all published on our website and OHL website,” Campbell said. “It wouldn’t be any different than it is now, other than the cases are skyrocketing and the province is just trying to make sure that it stops the spread.
“I follow it (the news) every day," he added.
The OHL says it is in conversation with government and public health officials, and will have further updates in the very near future.
The Colts were scheduled to visit Owen Sound Attack tonight, but that game has been postponed.
On Saturday, the Colts are slated to host North Bay Battalion.
Collin Jennings, the Colts social media and media relations manager, said the club is working to develop a plan to address media and fans about upcoming events and regulations. He said the Colts will be releasing a statement via social media and website when it is complete.
On Monday, with COVID-19 cases increasing rapidly, the province announced further pandemic restrictions for all of Ontario, effective at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022, for at least 21 days, until Jan. 26, subject to trends in public health and health system indicators. This is a return to the modified version of the province’s step two of the Roadmap to Reopen.
This includes closing indoor sport and recreational fitness facilities — including gyms, except for athletes training for the Olympics and Paralympics and select professional and elite amateur sport leagues.
The OHL cancelled the season due to the pandemic, with some players opting to play in Europe.
