Lifelongbender

While entertaining, this isn't very informative.

I've heard a number of people who are more or less respected in the hockey community around here express doubt about whether there will be a season at all this year. I, on the other hand, agree 100% with the logic here.

I read this article this morning and thought of you, @The King. You were right on this one.

What provisions are organizations around the city making for letting the players get some ice time before tryouts resume? I'm curious about how the hockey community in general is addressing this for players who haven't skated in literally months. I've heard through friends that one organization in the region is allowing each registered player one on-ice session for free before tryouts. This seems a little light to me. Are there other organizations making their plans public yet?

I don't see how these repeated sarcastic posts are moving this discussion forward. I'm afraid that the question of whether social distancing and shut down or operational restrictions of various services and facilities is necessary and the question of whether those shut down/operational restrictions are the law of the land are two different, and, it appears, increasingly unrelated, questions. The various restrictions on our daily lives may or may not have been necessary. We can never know whether they were or were not necessary because it is not possible to know what would have happened if they had not been enacted. For my part, I suspect they were not necessary, as I have stated elsewhere on this board. However, that question is not relevant to the question of whether rinks/coaches are permitted to operate outside the rules laid down by the government. The various requirements to operate are clear, if not clearly scientific, and operating otherwise is risking official action. There can't be any question about that. It is up to the various rinks to decide what level of exposure they can accept.

YMCA did not take out their ice, but they have made it abundantly clear that they won't permit anyone to use it until the County is green and restrictions are raised.

I imagine this is exactly right. I know I count myself among them.

There are rumors about a number of potentially national-bound teams and teams from several organizations outside the Renegades organization practicing there from the South Hills.

He's right about this. Without sanctioning from a body like USA Hockey, you don't even have the fiction of coverage at a rink.

I know of one that has definitely been selling private ice the entire time on the down low.

Yeah, it has been. You're 100% correct about that.

This last sentence. 100%. I wonder if people will notice how the time off affects their players for the positive instead of merely focussing on the slight and temporary decline in skating and stickhandling skills. The only caveat is that there are surely MANY players - admittedly mostly likely not AA or AAA players - who are sitting on their couches playing video games rather than staying in shape. The first couple weeks back on the ice will be fascinating, and the players who cared to stay active will be obvious.

It has definitely been happening at the Ice Castle.

This sounds just right.

It's true that the Y doesn't want the ice, but I understood that the contracts had several years left.