A preseason tournament is in the works for five BC Hockey League Island Division teams, including Powell River Kings, but BC Hockey advancing to stage three of its return to play parameters is required before plans are finalized.
The Island Cup, featuring the Kings, Victoria Grizzlies, Cowichan Valley Capitals, Nanaimo Clippers and Alberni Valley Bulldogs, is slated to start the first week of October, with each team playing 12 round-robin games.
Kings’ general manager Chad van Diemen said he expects a training camp for 25 signed players to start in Powell River on September 28. While some teams are holding traditional camps, only roster players will be on the ice for the Kings at practices and during any possible exhibition games, he added.
“In order for these extended training camps or exhibition games to happen, we are waiting for BC Hockey to go into phase three of their return to play, which includes regional game play,” said van Diemen. “We are hoping that happens sometime in September and that’s why we pushed into October to start these exhibition games.”
Powell River will play four of its 12 tournament games at home, something van Diemen said has been a rarity in recent years.
“Last year was our first home exhibition game in a number of years when Alberni came over,” he added. “We traditionally haven’t had many home exhibition games in Powell River. We were fortunate that each team has committed to come for one game.”
Kings will play two games on the road against each opponent. Semi-final and final games of the tournament will be played in Victoria.
Practices will continue throughout October and November, even if the Island Cup does not move forward. A 44-game regular season is expected to start in December and conclude in April 2021.
A limited number of fans will be allowed in the building for games, according to van Diemen, with 50 being the maximum. Boards and plexiglass form enough of a “bubble” to separate the athletes from those in attendance.
“There have been a lot of conversations with health officials and government, and it took a lot of phone calls by our league commissioner, executive director and our chairman of the board to try to find answers,” said van Diemen. “We were basically told that because of the glass between players and fans that it is separate.”
The tournament will adhere to all other current provincial guidelines.
van Diemen said he hopes the Island Cup will give players a sense of normalcy during a time that is far from normal.
“We were able as a division to get together and come up with a plan to make this as normal as possible, even given we’re only allowed 50 fans in attendance; that’s why we are doing it,” he added. “We are still going to be practising and playing games; it is just going to be crowds of 50, which is along the lines of an exhibition schedule anyway, so it allows us to keep things as competitive as possible with the players. It doesn’t change our schedule for day to day.”
