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COVID-19 impacting university hockey athletic recruiting season

'Obviously this is completely different than any other year'
2020 Lakers hockey coaches
Lakers hockey coaches (L to R) Mike McParland and Darren Turcotte. File photo

For Mike McParland, spring is the travel season. No, not for a vacation for the Nipissing Lakers varsity hockey head coach, but the spring is considered recruiting time for the veteran bench boss.   

With the COVID-19 pandemic, now he is trying to adapt to the crazy circumstances that all USport hockey recruiters are facing this spring. 

"The days are long making 25 to 30 calls a day, you are texting 40 different people and responding to 35 to 40 emails a day so you are really busy administratively for sure," said McParland. 

McParland would traditionally travel to major junior and junior playoff games, or other championship tournaments such as the Dudley-Hewitt Cup or the Centennial Cup in the spring. 

Once McParland had players interested, he says the big selling point was having them attend a school visit.  

"Once we could get them up to North Bay and show them North Bay and show them the University it is much easier to convince them to come to Nipissing," McParland explained. 

"But this year where there is a moratorium even on us where we cannot have players coming up for tours and visits. We cannot go visit anyone so the only way we are talking to them is on the phone or through a Zoom meeting. But to give them the total immersion or aspect and beauty of the university and North Bay has been really detrimental to getting kids to commit."

Darren Turcotte, the Lakers varsity women's head coach is feeling the impact too. He was planning to attend numerous events this spring including OWHA U16 and U18 tournaments, the Esso Cup in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, and the IIHF Women's World Hockey Championships which were scheduled for Halifax.  

"Obviously this is completely different than any other year," admitted Turcotte, a former NHLer.   

"Once our season is over, right away it becomes recruiting season with playdowns and provincials and national championships."

Turcotte says the coronavirus crisis is going to likely impact his recruiting for 2021-22 more than the upcoming season. He believes his program could make a positive out of a negative. That is possibly getting players who are committed to play NCAA hockey in the U.S. who may decide to stay closer to home instead. 

"If this keeps up and the way the U.S. is going with COVID cases and deaths, how many Canadian parents are excited about sending their kids down there," said Turcotte.  

"So that is kind of a wait and see with players not having to sit a year when coming back from the NCAA to USport in Canada. It may open some doors for those players too." 


Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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