“Count on me to keep our volunteers and our young people motivated in the coming weeks. I will not let go, ”says Hockey Quebec general manager Jocelyn Thibault.
Reached by phone on Friday morning, Jocelyn Thibault was still, like no doubt many Quebecers, “stunned” by the new measures announced the day before by the government.
These include, among other things, the suspension of indoor sports, with the exception of those practiced by a single person or by occupants of the same residence. Which means more hockey organized for an indefinite period.
I got up this morning feeling like I lost 8-0 yesterday. But hockey taught me some good lessons. It is not me who will maintain this feeling. We have to roll up our sleeves.
Jocelyn Thibault, General Manager at Hockey Quebec
The general manager of the Quebec Federation does not want to play the stage manager or point the finger at anyone. He prefers “to let the experts dictate the way forward”.
“There are two ways to look at this,” he said. What hockey taught me is that today we can look at that and point fingers at everyone, say that it is the fault of one, the fault of the other. Or we roll up our sleeves, lift our chin, grit our teeth and look ahead. ”
The former NHL goalie opts for the second option.
Hockey Quebec employees will be back from vacation on January 3. But already Wednesday evening, Mr. Thibault contacted the members of his team.
“I will not let go [nos jeunes et nos bénévoles]. […] Already, my gang said they had ideas. We will make sure to keep in touch with our world, our young people to maintain interest and motivation. It is so important. ”
“Count on us to bring pep in the cabin,” he says.
Note that hockey is still permitted on outdoor rinks in the province.
The continuation of things
For the moment, Hockey Quebec has made no decision for the rest of the season. When we ask Jocelyn Thibault if he fears having to cancel it, he answers from the outset that “we are not there yet”.
“If I trust what we hear, we could hope for the next few weeks or by the end of the month some control of what is happening,” he says. I keep hope. It’s too early to throw in the towel. There are still several long months of hockey ahead of us: January, February, March, April. Can we extend the season? Report events? I don’t know now. ”
“Today, you won’t hear Jocelyn Thibault say that our season is compromised,” he adds. I’m really not there. ”
The Federation recently updated its return to play protocol. It will have to adjust it further when the government allows the sport to resume. But what will be the first relaxations? Difficult to speculate. Will we be back to a maximum of 25 people on the rink, distanced on the bench and in the locker rooms?
“On the side of the ministry, I really feel a desire for our young people to practice sport as normally as possible,” said Jocelyn Thibault.
“What I hear is that there is a storm going on right now,” he continues. We take shelter and try to resume sport as normally as possible. Is this what will happen? Is it going to be changed? I do not know. ”
Before the holidays, the Federation had already decided, by itself, to cancel all hockey games until January 9. No decision has yet been taken as to whether these meetings and those for the next few weeks will be resumed or canceled permanently.
“These will be questions that we will ask ourselves when we return. It’s so hard, the unknown. […] We will certainly recover as many matches and events as possible, ”says the former GM of the Sherbrooke Phoenix.
He prefers to stay positive for the next step. For now, the important thing is to “keep young people motivated, interested in staying hooked on the sport. We have to keep them active ”.
“It’s incredible the resilience of our young people, our volunteers, our coaches. I salute them. It is one of the values that emerges from hockey. Hat. We will not give up for the rest of you. And I know you won’t let go, ”he concludes.
Leagues delay resumption of activities
With schools closed until January 17, the Quebec U18 AAA Hockey League (LHM18AAAQ) and the Quebec Junior AAA Hockey League (LHJAAAQ) have both decided to suspend all their activities until that date.
Both circuits have indicated that they want to ensure that their entire community is safe before resuming their activities. For now, the game schedule is scheduled to resume on January 21 in the LHM18AAAQ and January 19 in the LHJAAAQ.