It was a unique six-plus week adventure for North Bay's Mike Yeo.
The North Bay native, who is an assistant coach with the Philadelphia Flyers is back in the north on his cottage island on Lake Nipissing.
His Flyers were knocked out of the Eastern Conference semi-finals in seven games by the feisty New York Islanders back on September 6.
"We didn't give ourselves the best chance to win that game and that was disappointing," Yeo stated about falling 4-0 in the deciding elimination game.
"The players and everybody sacrificed a lot and we felt we were able to take another step but obviously it fell short."
It was a groundhog day experience for the longtime NHL coach. Yeo had never spent such a long period of time staying in a hotel room.
But he says the staff and players were excited considering there were many who thought the NHL bubble playoffs would not commence.
"Getting to Toronto, once we finally got there it was really impressive how quickly the league was able to put it together and how organized they were," noted Yeo.
"The facilities were fantastic. Obviously, it is a completely unique experience."
Yeo says the only similar situation to living in the NHL bubble was in when he coached Team Canada to a World Championship gold in the spring of 2016.
"You have other teams you are playing against that night and you are coming across them in the hotel and crossing paths all day long," said Yeo.
"That part of it was unique. Obviously not having the fans was something completely different but surprisingly that was noticeable before the games and maybe after goals and stuff like that but for the most part when the puck was dropped and the play was going on, you couldn't really tell because the intensity was still there."
While socially distancing yourself from the competition and the game officials is actually very easy in normal times, Yeo admitted it was a challenge avoiding them inside the bubble whether you liked it or not.
"On a game day you want to go to the gym and get a workout and we are playing against the Islanders, and here I am in there talking to their coaches and I am talking to the referees that are going to be reffing the game that is just something that does not typically happen when you are dealing with playoffs, intensity and the animosity you have with the teams that you are playing against," he said.
"That part was really unique. It was enjoyable and it was certainly different."
Being away from family was another challenge for Yeo and the Flyers. Especially for some of the players.
"We had guys on our team that had new born babies, Sean Courturier's wife had a baby two days before we left for the bubble," said the 47-year-old.
"Other players had newborns. Other guys have kids who were four or five, whatever the age there is not an easy age to be away from your kids for that long. The guys had to keep their eyes on the prize on not have their eyes on what they are missing. You have to keep staying motivated and that was one key part of our job for sure."
For Mike, it was tough being away from his wife Tanya and his son Kyler and daughter Braeden. Yeo has always enjoyed getting away from the game and coming home for the summer. Coming home for the fall is just another bizarre part of 2020.
"It was fun but it was extremely difficult at the same time," said Yeo.
"You have different moments and different days and some days it is great and some days it is not. Obviously for me, being from northern Ontario and my family is in northern Ontario and I work in the states; the summer is my time to re-connect with my family to come to the cottage and spend time with them really so every day I am looking out at the water (in Toronto) thinking about my cottage and looking out at Lake Ontario and people that are boating.
"It was not easy, but at the same time, you have a chance to win the Stanley Cup. The setup at the facility was awesome. It was a good time but at the same time it was not an easy situation that is for sure."
Yeo says the team will take some time off but will need to start planning for the new season with the NHL entry draft set to take place in early October.
