The National Hockey League announced that training camp will begin on July 10th, which means the Toronto Maple Leafs will be playing hockey soon.
Toronto Maple Leafs hockey is back…almost.
Although games haven’t been announced yet, the NHL and NHLPA agreeing on an opening date for Formal Training Camps is a step in the right direction.
By moving into Phase 3, it means that the entire team will be able to practice and workout together, which is much more significant than the current Phase 2 teams are in.
Toronto Maple Leafs Season to Resume Shortly
The current phase allows a maximum of six players on the ice at one time, and encourages social distancing. Just look at this picture from the Edmonton Oilers this week.
NHL, NHLPA agree on opening date for formal training camps. https://t.co/35lF9nEob0 pic.twitter.com/l6W4VLXVYv
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 11, 2020
In an article by TSN’s Kristen Shilton, John Tavares spoke about Phase 2 and how everything was going after day one.
"“After the first day back, I actually brought my sticks home so I could tape them up and save time at the rink and get done everything I need to do there…“There’s a pretty big-time crunch on being in the arena; you only have about 45 minutes to an hour to complete your workout and you’ve got about 40 minutes on the ice. The windows are fairly small, but the actual work we’re able to get in is going to go a long way in helping us prepare and get ready. The intensity is there.”"
It’s pretty funny to hear that Tavares has to bring his sticks home to save time, but it’s actually a smart thing to do.
When you’re at the rink, there’s no time now to shoot the breeze with your teammates and see how everyone’s doing. Instead, everyone needs to use every single minute of their time wisely and make sure they’re preparing the best way possible.
Ilya Mikheyev, Jake Muzzin and Jack Campbell had all joined Tavares for the first day of Phase 2, while Cody Ceci and Mitch Marner were expected to join them today.
When it’s only limited to six players at once, it’s not necessarily as big of a deal that the full team hasn’t made their way to Toronto yet.
However, with the potential of a mandatory 14-day quarantine for every player outside of Canada once they return to Toronto, players should start making their way back so that they can be ready for the July 10th training camp.
With this announcement today, it now provides a clearer date that the NHL will most likely not return until August 1st.
So, until then, we’ll look forward to breaking down the Toronto Maple Leafs versus Colubmus Blue Jackets for another seven weeks.