hockeylogger33 wrote: ↑Wed Aug 19, 2020 9:58 pm
Minnesota kids have been playing hockey in other states since June. Numerous youth and high school tournaments have continued through July in Minnesota. Both the USHL & NAHL have held camps with similar results as was mentioned before with players from around the entire US. All without major outbreaks or Covid incidents. What happens if Tier 1, Elite League, and other fall leagues play through October with similar results? What will the be the reasoning the MSHSL has to not start high school season on schedule?
Without changes in the trend above the only reason the MSHSL season is delayed is purely out of fear or political pressure.
Wow....just.....WOW.....

Ok, lot's to cover so here goes. First, there have been at least 5 outbreaks that have been confidently tied to hockey activity. Ashland, WI., Fargo, ND, and at least three others in Minnesota. Along with others in other parts of the country. Have any of those kids died? Not that I'm aware of. Have any been hospitalized? Again, not that I'm aware of. However, that might not necessarily become public so, using that as a point of evidence when arguing the merits of whether or not the MSHSL (or Minnesota Hockey/USA Hockey) should move forward with "normal" game play probably isn't your best approach.
Still, along those same lines, can any of you say with certainty whether or not any of the players who've been infected will develop myocarditis? (See this article:
https://www.axios.com/coronavirus-myoca ... 07b31.html ).
How about long-term respiratory damage/disability? (See this article:
https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/07/08/fr ... ing-marks/ )
Possible permanent thyroid damage? (See this article:
https://www.endocrineweb.com/covid-19-p ... id-disease ).
You know what, I can't answer any of those questions either. You know why? Because those possible effects of their infections may not present themselves for months (myocarditis) or even years (lung and thyroid issues). The point being -- for the thousandth time -- you aren't using proper logic trains or making legitimate risk assessment decisions based on deaths or even hospitalizations as it relates to the severity of this virus. There is far more to that equation that we've only just recently become aware of. Why do you think the BIG10 and Pac-12, where each individual program stands to lose between $75 and $100 million, have decided to postpone sports until Jan. 1st? Part of it has to do with the NCAA requirements regarding testing. They're challenging enough that even a number of BIG10 programs don't think they can meet the required numbers of tests and turnaround times. However, the other main reason is that at least 10 current BIG10 athletes have already shown signs of myocarditis. Not to mention the other potential health issues I mentioned. Plus, there are now even other health issues I didn't mention that are presenting themselves in relation to Covid. Along with the fact that even people who were asymptomatic are now showing these possible issues. Yes, the other three Power 5 conferences have decided to continue to work towards having a season. That doesn't mean they'll actually start and/or finish.
Now, this relates to the next point I'm going to make regarding the attempts that "hockeylogger", "WestMetro", "blueblood", and "USA218" are making in rationalizing that, just because the various summer hockey activities and their attendant travel requirements have gone on without some major outbreak (personally, I think the 15 plus people that were infected as a result of the Ashland event is pretty significant but..) or illness occurring (again, we don't know whether any of the kids who've tested positive have had to go to a hospital or not) is some type of direct evidence that should prove to the leaders of the MSHSL that they would need to be either "afraid" or worried about "politics" to not allow a full-fledged, normal game play season....
As I've said previously, these decisions take on a completely different level of significance when it's your name on the line saying it's OK to play. Especially when that decision could lead to the death of possibly not only an athlete directly involved in that decision, but also the possible death of a sibling, parent, grandparent, coach, official, or teacher. Trust me, I'm well aware of the degree of chance of that worst-case scenario occurring. Especially, to the actual players. However, that degree of risk to others in the possible chain of transmission rises significantly depending on both age and possible pre-existing conditions. Along with the possibility of one of the previously mentioned health issues occurring.
Yes, there is a risk in simply playing our great game. See Jack Jablonski and Travis Roy. However, as parents and administrators, we understand that risk is inherent to the actual playing of the game. And, when those types of tragic things happen, it literally only happens to that player. The individual action that causes that situation can't cause the paralysis or death of any other individual. It's literally a completely different type of risk. Even more importantly, the liability insurance provided by USA Hockey membership actually covers that tragic situation. Whereas, USA Hockey's insurance provides absolutely ZERO coverage for any Covid related legal challenges. It's easy for USA Hockey and even Minnesota Hockey to proclaim they're "sanctioning" a "normal" season or even a summer hockey program, especially when they carry no risk of liability if a player, parent, coach, or official ends up getting critically ill or dying. Think about that from a youth hockey standpoint. Especially as it relates to how getting sued and losing would impact your average Minnesota youth hockey association.
Have the kids sign a waiver you say...well, here's a portion of the article I link to below that discusses both general liability and waivers. Please read it and then tell me you think a waiver will definitively protect an organization.
...."Expect to see youth sports providers increasingly asking parents to sign waivers that would theoretically protect the organizations against COVID-19 lawsuits. Waiver applicability varies by state laws. The waivers have not always held up in court, and even if parents sign away their child’s rights now, the child could still sue in the future at an older age"....
“Waivers are a good idea because the insurance coverage right now is so wacky,” Crispo said. “The real intent for the waivers is to get rid of the nuisance claims – someone gets injured, wants to roll the dice and see if they can get some money, and they go to (a semi-educated lawyer) who says, ‘You have a waiver, forget it.’ The larger claims may not be covered by waivers.”
For those of you that missed my post from last night, here's the link to an article from the Aspen Institute Project Play regarding potential Covid liability issues for youth and high school sports organizations...
https://www.aspenprojectplay.org/corona ... lity-risks
Back to the MSHSL and it's impending decision regarding hockey. In his/her last post, "hockeylogger" says..."What happens if Tier 1, Elite League, and other fall leagues play through October with similar results? What will the be the reasoning the MSHSL has to not start high school season on schedule?".... Again I'll emphasize, that it's completely illogical to compare ANY USA Hockey/Minnesota Hockey sanctioned event or league and whatever perceived success they might have in regards to any significant issues with the virus...to anything regarding what the MSHSL chooses to do or not do. The first two have ZERO liability, while the MSHSL has complete liability. IF the MSHSL chooses to either shorten the regular season or, cancel it completely, it will have absolutely nothing to do with some supposed "fear" or concern for the "politics" of the situation. It will come down to their assessment of the health risks to the athletes and secondary people involved, as well as the attending/potential liability. Period. End. Of. Story.
Let me also add this discussion point that I've mentioned in previous posts. In regards to team sports, I am confident that, regardless of the level of play, there will be significant issues maintaining schedule integrity once players and/or teams have to quarantine for two weeks. This is from another AspenProjectPlay article -- if any of you are interested in reading some great information about youth and high school sports in general, you'll find it here -- that talks about the challenges that Iowa high school baseball and softball faced this summer:
"In Iowa, high school baseball and softball postseason brackets have been heavily disrupted by COVID-19 cases on various teams. Iowa was the first state to resume high school sports. Roughly 25 baseball teams and 20 softball teams have been impacted by possible exposures or infections, according to ESPN. One athletic director said so many programs have had to shut down with quarantines that “we’re all looking at each other like, ‘Well, it’s only a matter of time before we’re next.’” Chris Cuellar, communications director for the Iowa High School Athletic Association, told ESPN that social distancing has been one of the biggest challenges for some communities, whose policies are more relaxed as people at games act “like coronavirus doesn’t exist.”
The reality is, no matter to what degree we can resume youth and high school sports in the coming months, we will face situations and challenges that none of us can even conceive of at this moment. That being the case, all of us need to be mindful that those with decision-making authority will be doing the best they can with information that will literally be changing on a daily and, even hourly basis.
Now, IF the high school season is shortened or canceled, there will obviously be players -- especially the truly higher end players -- who will have opportunities to play elsewhere. However, my guess is that the MSHSL won't finalize/announce that decision until Nov. 1st at the earliest. Again, as I stated in my post from last night, these administrative bodies are likely to wait until the last possible moment to decide. Not because of some diabolic plan to "stick it to the kids" or "protect the brand" or the "state tournament", but in order to ensure they have the absolute latest and best information to base their decisions on. To be honest, I'm not so sure those in leadership at the MSHSL feel that having a less than normal season or, worst case scenario, no season at all, will be the overnight death knell of community-based high school hockey that some of you do.
Still, if that's the case, and based on the new rule Minnesota Hockey passed last summer preventing associations from forming traveling teams based solely on school attendance, I'm just not convinced that Minnesota Hockey will allow the formation of any new U-16/U-18 teams that are based strictly on school attendance, e.g. Edina having a U-18 team that mirrors exactly what their high school varsity roster would look like. Now, since Elliott was a part of all of these MH Board discussions the last three months, it would be interesting if he would be willing to share some of the details of the various "what if" scenarios that I'm sure were discussed. Still, for those players that aren't able to latch on with a junior team -- trust me, there's no guarantee their seasons will be started or finished either -- the Junior Gold programs will gladly take them.
Also, in response to an earlier post about how things are run in Michigan and other traditional hockey states...in a lot of cases, the kids who are U-16 eligible often play, for their "AAA"/Tier I/II team from September thru mid-November, then the high school season starts and finishes in late February. Then they go back to their "AAA"/Tier I/II team to finish and try to qualify for USA Hockey Nationals. For U-18 eligible only kids, they often play a full "AAA"/Tier I/II season or, if they're good enough, play in the NAHL or USHL.
I'll close by saying that people in legitimate, youth sports administrative leadership positions have always been tasked with ensuring that the health and safety of the kids in their program is their top priority. Unfortunately, this specific situation, with this specific set of circumstances, presents an extremely and uniquely challenging situation from a general liability standpoint. Meaning, if you actually try to put yourself in their shoes, it's not at all surprising that they might choose to limit or even cancel the season IF they believe they're putting the greater organization at risk from a potential liability standpoint by trying to play. Believe it or not, I sincerely hope that we are able to have as close to a normal youth and high school season as possible. If any of you choose to try and push back on any of the points I've made, I welcome that discussion. All I ask is that, in doing so, you actually respond to a specific point with specific reasons or rationale, and not a bunch of generalities or opinions that you can't support with at least some type of fact-based information.
