Sask. Hockey Association ponders discipline after video shows team breaking health orders

The Saskatchewan Hockey Association is looking at putting a team into the penalty box after a Facebook video was posted of the club playing a game.

A video posted on social media appears to show the Under-18 Estevan Wolves participating in a four-on-four scrimmage with a referee and no social distancing occurring on the benches.

Kelly McClintock, the hockey association’s general manager, said he and his staff found out about the video on Tuesday morning.

“A couple people involved with the team posted it on Facebook and that just tells me there’s a lack of respect for what the (COVID-19) public health order is. It doesn’t matter what your level of cases are in your area of the province, you still have to follow it because it applies to the entire province,” McClintock said.

“It really gives hockey a bad view in people’s mind. I reported them immediately to the government and asked them to take action against them. We will from a discipline point of view.”

Under current provincial health orders, teams are only allowed to practise in groups of eight as long as five metres of physical distancing can be maintained between them. There must also be physical distancing between the players themselves.

Games of any kind are not allowed.

“This is one of the first times that we’ve had something. I’m not naive enough to believe that there isn’t something going on somewhere. Maybe they did some battle drills they weren’t supposed to do. This is the first time that someone has made us aware of it or somebody has posted it,” McClintock said.

“So many of our minor hockey associations have done a great job following guidelines. Since November we haven’t had any positive cases related to us by minor hockey associations. Then you see this and (if) we don’t take action, we’re letting down the rest of our membership.”

McClintock said the association’s disciplinary committee will look at what sort of punishment will be appropriate.

“At times you don’t put the kids at fault because it’s the adults who are organizing so you have to take a look at who organized it and you can always take action towards them from a suspension point of view,” McClintock said.