Lifelongbender

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.

Eddie, I agree with your assessment. I was just thinking out loud.

Any chance there's an element of being ready to house the bodies from other localities as well? That rink has the virtue of being a little out of the way. One could imagine that scenario.

Some discussion of this over on the "Tryouts?" topic, too.

LOL, I logged on here specifically to post this, but you beat me to it. I can hear the complaining by parents whose kids play there after this is all over. Neither of my kids have played there in over 7 years, but there are games there. What a situation!

There are plenty of tournament companies still scheduling late summer and early fall tournaments as well.

T The western PA region can hardly afford to lose any ice, but that does seem like a VERY likely outcome of this situation. Hopefully someone comes along who wants to buy them out, but it sure seems like investors for ice arenas are few and far between. There were already a slew of rumors of rinks closing or struggling as it was. I expect that 'eradication' is a strong word for what is coming - I feel strongly that parents and players are too invested and dedicated to their sports for that - but you can bet that the new normal will be both smaller and weirder than what we had going on before. I worry if some organizations will have trouble getting ice in the coming new normal.

Well, what I think is clear is that if hockey happens, there are PLENTY of people who will let their kids play. Even travel. That's just the way of the world.

Remember that all the rinks are taking out their ice. Even if we could start in May, it would take a little time to get ready to play those games. Sadly this PIHL season has to be considered over, even if they're not officially cancelling anything.

That's consistent with what I'm hearing from organizations around the South Hills.

From their 3/20/2020 update:

I agree with @PeterThePuck on his last two sentences here - this is why I do think that organizations will follow USA Hockey recommendations. At any rate, now that they've made recommendations, I guess we will see who is right about this issue eventually.

Hey, this is off-topic, I know, but they played game 4 of the 2009 Stanley Cup series against Detroit on SportsNet the other day, and TK looked pretty good in that series. Anyone remember the goal he had in the second of game 4 from Kunitz and Crosby? Lord almighty. I'd forgotten about that play.

Yeah, it's hard to see how HS hockey could restart now. I've heard rumors that some of the rinks have taken out, or are taking out, their ice. Anyone know if there is any truth to that?