‘Things are changing by the day’ says Caledon Bombers GM

Written By ROBERT BELARDI

General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations for the Caledon Bombers, Robin Inscoe says it all depends on government regulations to start up the year. 

The Greater Ontario Junior Hockey League is aiming for a December start. 

“We were told the other day we can cross regions with the health authority approval. Teams are starting to do that. Obviously, you can't have a season if you can't cross regions,” Inscoe said. 

Out in Niagara Falls, clubs have begun non-contact scrimmages where cases of COVID-19 have been low. Since Peel has faced numerous restrictions, Inscoe hopes Caledon will be exempt from the region in order for the season to properly begin. 

It has been a challenging time to piece together practices since the club has been restricted to 10 players on the ice. Inscoe says the boys were practicing three times a week and now have had to limit practice time on the ice down to twice a week in three separate bubbles. 

That costs more for ice time and that is a lot of paper work as players must complete a COVID waiver prior to heading out on to the rink. 

Dry land practices with a fitness coach were cancelled and players have had to resort to their own work outs in order to stay fit and ready. 

And that they are. The 24-man roster is set and ready to go. 

“The Bombers have always been very young. We're a little bit older which means we hope for a little wiser and a little stronger and that I hope sees a few more wins,” Inscoe said. 

It's been quite the year as general manager for Inscoe and not what which would normally bode a traditional face-to-face recruitment. He's had to go through a different but unique approach throughout the past several months. 

“Your players are your best recruiters and your players talk to players. That's the avenue we had to rely on a little bit more because we couldn't get all the guys in, so, players were talking to players and then I get a phone call.” 

Due to restrictions in the area previously, the Bombers couldn't host try outs and were not able to see how players are on the ice. So, Inscoe had to rely on his trusty sources to get the job done. 

As of now, the GOJHL is prepared to put players on the ice safely in a non-contact fashion. It's expected players will be wearing a face bowl attached to their helmets just like the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL). 

Now the gruelling and impatient wait begins as Inscoe and other junior b clubs in Ontario await further news from the league, the Ontario Hockey Federation (OHF) and local Public Health Units to finalize a decision for the year and how crossing regions will work to ensure everyone's safety. 

What is confirmed is there will be no fans in attendance for games. 

Expect further news to come out in the next few weeks on more updates as December; which seemed so far away so long ago, is seemingly around the corner and under normal circumstances, there would be a season. The true test of patience continues.