An Open Letter - Let's all pull on the rope together

March 14, 2020

Head Coach Brad Tippett and I spoke on the phone Thursday night and agreed to meet on Friday morning or early afternoon for a coffee and a chin wag.  We were going to meet with all the players as a group for one last time on Friday evening and were just nailing down some of the smaller details.  We spoke again on Friday morning.  Coach is a busy guy and so I almost always let him take the initiative to call me rather than me calling him because his bingo card is almost always full.  But I took the lead and gave him a dingle and we agreed to meet in Brentwood Bay in a small coffee shop where we had met many times before.

I was already seated when Coach came through the door and joined me at a small table in the coffee shop.  I had been marveling at how many tiny groups of 2-4 people were in their own small world, each group holding a conversation as if they were the only people in the establishment.  People-watching is an enjoyable pastime for me and I was getting full value for the $3.00 coffee that I had purchased only minutes earlier.  Coach sat down and we got right into it.  We have had a relationship through the game we both love for just under four years and as a result, there is not much small talk about the weather.  I had picked up the award earlier in the day for our "Top Playoff Performer" that we had agreed upon the night before.  We discussed our camp, or more accurately the cancellation of our camp, and a whole lot of other hockey-related items.  Coach had set up the 7:00 pm meeting at the rink with our Captain Thomas Spink and we agreed that he would pick up some pizzas and a few drinks for our final time together as a group.  We planned to do player exit interviews on Saturday with most of the players but we agreed that we would take all the 20's and chat with them together sometime during the evening.  After 70 minutes, I looked into the large white porcelain cup and I could clearly see the bottom, an indication that it was time to head out the door.  We bid each other adieu, walked to our vehicles and rolled out of the parking lot.  "Coach is a good man," I thought as I rolled down the hill to my home only a block from the Brentwood Ferry.

I left home just after 7:00 pm for the 15-minute drive to the Panorama Recreation Centre.  I wanted to be a bit late to allow the players to get settled in and for the Coaching Staff - Brad, Len Dawes and Jackson Skerratt - and our Athletic Therapist Rachel Schmidt to have time for some conversation.  I meandered towards our home barn, the friendly confines of the Panorama Recreation Centre and a place that is dear to both Coreen and me.  I asked one of our Affiliate Players Aleko Sdrakas earlier in the season what he enjoyed better, the 3rd Jersey Game on a Monday afternoon or the Friday game at the end of the season.  Aleko had played in both and is a Peninsula kid and a pretty sharp fellow and I thought he would be a pretty good measuring stick.  It was not his choice between the two that caught my attention, but rather the way he framed his answer.  When he talked about our usual game slot he called it, "The tradition of playing in the Friday night game on the Peninsula."  I loved hearing that.  I slowly drove into the parking lot and although it was Friday and although we were scheduled to play Game 3 in our Best-of-7 Round two series, times were anything but traditional.  No, we are entering into a time of uncertainty and although I do believe that in four months we will all look back at what was, I also believe that the next four months will be impactful.

I made the left turn into the parking lot at the rink and on an evening when it should have been jam-packed, there were only about 20 cars in the lot.  I saw Mackenzie Benn-Wipp's bright yellow VW and knew I was in the right location.  I picked a spot near the sliding doors and walked slowly into the lobby between the two rinks.  I almost always go through the player's entrance but today I wanted to drink in the silence so to remember it years from now.  There was one elderly gentleman standing in the lobby with two canes helping to hold him up.  He looked lost and disappointed and immediately gave me a smile and a big hello.  He told me that he knew the season was cancelled due to COVID-19 but wanted to come down to the Arena because that is what he does on Friday evenings.  I simply nodded rather than shake his hand but was not happy about taking that route.  It's a funny world we live in.

I walked past the spot where Coreen sets up her table and looked back into the "A" Rink.  The ice was greased and the lights were shining bright, but it was empty.  I walked into "B" Arena and went over to the glass.  It too was vacated.  I went through the door and into the tunnel past where the Victoria Cougars should have been dressing and I could hear roars of laughter coming from Dressing Room #1 from our players.  I started to laugh.  This group of kids were an absolute joy to be around.  There was not one time this season, including right then, when I was not happy to come charging to the rink.  They were as maintenance-free as a group could possibly be.  I continued to walk down the tunnel and Coach came out of the room holding a piece of half-devoured pizza, the other half that I could not see was clearly being worked on.  He smiled and asked what I was chuckling about and I told him that every time I see this group they are all talking and laughing, every time.  I wanted to say they were infectious but considering everything, thought it might have been a poor choice of words.  It's a funny world we live in.

A few minutes later the room went quiet.  Many of the players were still eating pizza but Coach took the floor and said a few words.  And then it was time for Jackson and Len and Rachel to each address the group.  Coach brought in the white jerseys for the 20's, a tradition on the Club, and they were each gifted with their respective uniform.  I once told John Wilson that if there was any advice I could give to a Junior 'B' owner, it would be not to carry 20's, that they will be the end of you, and I told the team what I had told John.  That line drew a good laugh.  These 20's were some of the finest men I have ever had the pleasure of meeting - Alexander Benger, Drew Coughlin, Skyler Diamond-Burchuk, Connor McKillop, Taylor Redmond, Andrew Rocha, Thomas Spink and Jack Taylor.  Later, I had a moment with Skyler and I told him that he was one of the finest if not the finest people to ever come through our organization since we came into ownership 20 seasons ago in 1999.  He responded probably exactly as I would have thought he would have responded if I had thought about how he would have responded.  "That means a lot to me Pete.  My mom will love to hear that."  He is a young man with an old soul.

I have wrapped up a lot of seasons in Minor Hockey and in Junior Hockey both at the 'A' and 'B' level, but what happened next was something that I absolutely did not expect and might have just been the highlight of my season.  Coach Tippett picked up the 'Top Playoff Performer' award and said a few words, and I mean a few.  He said that there were a number of players who could have won the award and he was absolutely correct.  But he said the guy that one the award played the best hockey of his life in the playoffs and then turned the award around for all to see. The photo was of #23 Jack Taylor battling with a Westshore Wolves player.  Jack seemed shocked as all the players in the room gave him a loud and long round of applause.  Tears welled up in his eyes and he then gave a heartfelt address to the team.  I told him and the team that seeing how much he appreciated the selection told me that we absolutely made the right choice.  I watched Jack for the next 20 minutes and tears remained in his eyes for that entire time.  Jack has been on the Club for three years and has never said a negative word.  He has never complained.  In fact, he has been one of the quietest players over that span.  And that is why it made his reaction all that more special to me.  I had to check myself a few times over the next 20 minutes to make sure I did not shed a tear, it would have been so easy to do.  I actually phoned Coach later in the evening and I brought him back to 1980 when the Americans beat the Russians in that fateful hockey game in Lake Placid.  Al Michaels was calling the game and when the buzzer sounded, he said only five words and then let the pictures do all the talking, "Do you believe in miracles!"  I told him that on paper his speech for the award was not inspiring but in person it was absolutely perfect.  That moment and the next 20 minutes is what makes the game so special.  There were no fans in the lobby or in the stands or lined up past the concession as I know there would have been had it not been for COVID-19.  But for me, those 20 minutes were every bit as inspiring.  I believe it will be a moment that Jack will remember forever, I know I will. 

Jack and the other 20's came down into another dressing room along with the coaching staff and me, and we had a short talk.  There were a few laughs and at one point I reminised how Thomas Spink arrived on our doorstep four seasons ago.  I told him he has been a great Captain - and he has been.  Thomas was emotional.  Panthers Hockey has been great for people of all ages.  It's great for Lennon, our stick boy who is just a young and energetic kid.  It's great for Malcolm who was our stickboy for years and now sharpens skates, jumps in and does colour on occasion for our broadcasts or does anything else that needs to get done.  It's great for our Medical Staff, our Coaches, our Volunteers, for our players, and for our fans.

We had a fantastic regular season from start to finish, we really did.  We went on to knock out the Westshore Wolves last Friday night and then lost to the Cougars in Game 1 on Sunday afternoon.  I left the rink really disappointed in our effort but we had a couple of good practices and I was looking forward to the Game 2 last Wednesday.  We lost that one 3-2 to go down 2-0 in the series but I left the rink feeling good about the series.  I felt that we deserved to win the game and had a bounce or two gone a different way, the series would have been tied.  I was still excited when I hit the sack but the sandman did not come around for quite a while.  I was going over the game, going over our chances.  I was going to say to the boys before Game 3 that we need an extraordinary effort tonight to get right back into the series and then that same effort needs to be the ordinary for the rest of the series.  I felt like we could win the next four games.  Three of the next four games would be in our barn and our guys love playing in our barn.  And I felt that once the momentum in the series turned, it was going to be hard to stop us.  Coach told me that he was already thinking about Game 5 going into Archie Browning tied 2-2 in the series.  We were down but we had the Cougars where we wanted them, at least that was the feeling we all had.

A lot of hockey people are truly upset with the way things turned for their team.  Peninsula Midget AA were to host the Provincials starting on Sunday.  The Bantam AA were heading to Williams Lake for the Provincials after winning the Island in dramatic fashion.  These stories are everywhere.  I hear many Junior Hockey people talk about how hard this situation is on the 20's in their final season.  Don't count me in that group.  I feel bad for all the players on every team but the fact of the matter is, hockey is a game that is played.  Nobody has to feel bad for anybody, I think we have all been lucky to share time and the moments that we had together this season.  I for one am not going to let COVID-19 be the focus of the season, although I too will remember it forever.  It is a sport that is fun for players to play and fun for fans to watch.  But, it pales in comparison to the day-to-day grind that we all go through in our daily lives and it certainly will pale in comparison to the next several months.  Take a moment to look out your front window at your neighbours and ponder how COVID-19 has affected them.

I spoke to one of my neighbors a couple of days ago, both he and his wife are travel agents.  He told me that for the past month he is going to work and actually losing money and that both of their work weeks are down to two days.  He said it is going to get a lot worse and he is hoping they can hang on for the next several months.  But he did not think about himself, he mentioned young travel agents who will lose their homes because they cannot make the payments.  I picked up the award for Taylor from Gordon Lee, whom I have spoken with hundreds and hundreds of times.  He told me how COVID-19 has taken a big toll on his business.  Many are cancelling photo sessions and he is hoping this will not be long and drawn out.  It obviously has impacted our Hockey Club.  The playoffs are an opportunity to pay some bills, but that will not be the case this time around.  We will make a determination about our Spring Camp set to go in April, but in all likelihood it will be cancelled next week.  On a personal note, the way the season ended took a real toll on Coreen as well.  She once again told me this morning how upset she is to not have the opportunity to say good-bye to all of our wonderful fans as she has done for the past 20 years.  Coreen has such a close attachment to all of our fans and sponsors and this situation has been a real disappointment to her.

Today we live in a society where it seems there is an appetite for escaping accountability, looking to place blame on someone else.  Everything has changed so much in the past 20 years and not always for the better in my opinion.  We have changed from a society that used to battle through any adversity to one that often plays the victim card.  COVID-19 will allow us to change gears as a society if we choose to and move to helping each other in times of need.  It's no different than a Hockey Club, every moving part is an important one.

Coreen and I want to thank every person who supported the Hockey Club this season.  We have tried to make Fridays special on the Peninsula and we believe to a large degree we have accomplished this.  We had a great product out on the ice this season and we believe that next season we will return with a group that will once again compete near the top of the VIJHL.  We have a great fan base and our volunteers are nothing short of outstanding.  A huge thank you goes out to our billet families, what a huge impact you have made on the boys you have brought into your home and into your hearts.  To our sponsors, we absolutely could not survive without your support, thank you, thank you!  The Community on the Peninsula has been our home since January of 1982 and it has treated us wonderfully.  We have tried to reciprocate through our Hockey Club and we will continue to do so after all the smoke clears in terms of what is happening in our World right now.

Coach and I will be doing the final exit interviews this afternoon.  Coreen will clean up any outstanding tasks and will put together a plan to begin our marketing season.  I will take a day or two in the office and around the rink to do inventory and figure out what we will need for September.  I have absolutely loved this season and the big bump in the road as of late will be in my rear view mirror in short time.  And it will be in your rear view mirror as well.  Enjoy the summer, take care and good health to all!

Pete Zubersky