The Battlefords North Stars are as eager as ever to return to the ice this fall, with many players following the NHL playoffs closely while they wait. (Martin Martinson/battlefordsNOW Staff)

By Martin Martinson

The good ol' hockey game

North Stars players react to unique NHL postseason

Sep 16, 2020 | 3:00 PM

It has been a bizarre year for sports in many respects due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and the hockey world has been no exception.

As the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL) season remains on hold for the time being, many of the players from the local team have been keeping an eye on the National Hockey League (NHL) for their hockey fix.

“Yeah, I’m a big hockey fan and NHL fan, so I have the notifications on for all of the games on my phone,” Stars’ forward, Jaxon Steele said with a laugh. “So even if I’m not watching, I have score updates and all that, but I’ve been watching quite a bit of the games.”

Following a nearly four-month pause to the professional season, the NHL returned to play in late July with a ‘play-in series’ format. The ‘play-ins,’ featured all 24 league teams still in the hunt for a playoff position between the two conferences, helping to determine both playoff matchups and re-seeding ahead of the postseason.

Perhaps even more unique than the extended playoff format itself though, was the news that every game in the return to play would be hosted in a ‘bubble’ in one of two hub cities. All Eastern Conference teams would play their games in Toronto, while all Western teams would call Edmonton home for the duration of the postseason.

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At these two locations, players from multiple teams were then confined to eat, sleep, train, and find leisure activities within the bubble’s boundaries, while having limited contact with the outside world.

Steele said, from a player’s perspective, he thinks the whole bubble situation would be a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, and unique opportunity to be a part of.

“It would definitely be different for sure, but I think it would be pretty cool at the same time,” Steele said of the format. “I don’t know if this will ever happen again in our lifetime, so for them to say they played in the playoffs in the bubble and had all the teams staying in one city, in the same hotel, I think that would be pretty cool for me, personally.”

Forward Logan Spence, echoed his teammate’s sentiment and said it’s been a season many – both directly involved as players, and indirectly as fans – are not soon likely to forget.

“It’s pretty crazy,” Spence said. “It is just such a different situation than anybody’s ever seen before and watching the games it seems like everything is going to plan [which is good to see.] Everybody looks to be playing hard, and it’s been a lot better than I thought it would with no fans actually. It seems to be working out pretty well, and it’s nice to have hockey back on.”

The Tampa Bay Lightning currently hold a 3-2 series lead over the New York Islanders, in the teams’ best-of-seven, Eastern Conference Finals series. The winner will advance to play the Western Conference champion, Dallas Stars in the Stanley Cup Final next week.

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Martin.Martinson@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: MartyMartyPxP1