Resilience, team culture key for Grizzlies’ success through altered season

Cheering on the Grizzlies from the stands at the Revelstoke Forum is almost a winter right-of-passage for both new and long-standing community members. With COVID-19 restrictions kiboshing the usual mixture of hockey fans young and old from cheering on their favourite Junior B hockey team, I reached out to Revelstoke Grizzlies’ head coach and general manager Ryan Parent. I spoke with Parent about the new cohort structure, how resilience is key to the team’s success and ways the community can continue supporting junior hockey.

Revelstoke Mountaineer: COVID-19 restrictions have changed what hockey games will look like this season. A large part of the experience for both players and fans is having the crowd cheering in the stands during the game. What impact do you see the lack of spectators in the stands having on game play?

Ryan Parent: It will affect to some extend the games itself, I just have to believe we’ll have a resilient enough group. Everybody’s faced with that same reality […] we’re just going to have to deal with it. We’re just so thankful for all the sponsors that were able to stick with us and make hockey possible. Revelstoke has been a really good hockey town over the years. The team’s been here since 1994 [and] has a really good tradition and history to it, I think it really has become part of the make up of the town itself.

The Revelstoke Forum beer section is among the loudest in the KIJHL. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

RM: The structure of the hockey season has changed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Could you explain a bit about what this season will look like?

RP: The way it works is we play in small groups of three. You stay in that group for a period of time. When you leave the group, there has to be a break of 14 days before a new group is joined. Our first group is with Golden and Sicamous, and then it moves from there. We change groups a couple of times. No play-off format has been announced. I think the players league-wide are just excited to have hockey.

[More information on the cohort structure for the KIJHL’s 2020/21 season can be found here. Phase one begins on November 13, 2020 and sees the Grizzlies in a cohort with the Golden Rockets and Sicamous Eagles. Phase two kicks off January 2 when the Grizzlies move into a new grouping with the Chase Heat and Kamloops Storm. Phase three begins February 5 with the Grizz in a cohort with Kamloops Storm and Sicamous Eagles.]

After the whistle at a 2019/20 game. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

 RM: The team is required to quarantine before changing cohort groups. Can you describe what this will look like for the players? How will this impact high school age players on the team?

RP: The expectation on the players is that they stay within the cohort group. That’s who they’ll interact with. A lot of the high school players, being cautious, their school has become online for the season. That’s a bit of a change for them, but that’s the reality. We’re being as careful as anybody. The league has brought in experts on sport and how this is going to play out.

The players are committing to it, they love playing. That’s what you’ve gotta come back to, do we put our entire way of living on hold, or do you accept what the provincial government has laid out and operate within that structure. Everybody understands where it’s at and we’re just trying to do it in as safe a way possible for players.

Fans watch from the concession area at the Revelstoke Forum. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

 RM: There are no spectators allowed at the games. How can fans watch the games?

RP: We’ll be broadcasting into all the major venues in town so you can watch from home or you can watch from every major venue in town. [We’re] very appreciative of the sponsors that have kept us on and basically kept hockey in Revelstoke. We know we can’t have spectators, but still wanted to create that buzz around that team. In Revelstoke we’ve grown over the past six years, and we’ve got one of the best fan bases in the league.

[Games will also be broadcast on HockeyTV for a small subscription fee.]

The 2018/19 Revelstoke Grizzlies are KIJHL champions. Photo: Aaron Orlando/Revelstoke Mountaineer Magazine

RM: What impact or concerns are there around loss of revenue from not having fans at the games? What is being done to help with this?

RP: It’s a huge concern around the league right now. It’s forced three teams to go dark. My biggest concern with our club is once you shut it down do you get it going again? I think everybody in town wants to see hockey continue, we certainly want to see it continue. We’re doing our best this year make sure we have a competitive product on the ice.

RM: Can you tell me a bit about what the team looks like this year?

 RP: We’ve got a good core of returning players to build on. Raymond Speerbrecker is back as captain and we’ve got Noah Desouza, Jordan Kohlman, Brenden Vulcano and Cash Sawchyn returning. These players have been around the last couple of years, and I think we’ve got the players necessary to lead the group. As a coach you can only do so much, but those returning players, they make a statement about your team culture and the expectations right away.

RM: Billet homes are a large part of the junior hockey experience. Do all of the players currently have billets or are more needed?

RP: We’re still looking. If there’s anybody out there that would like to get involved in billeting, please get in touch. One of the things we’ve looked at over the years is Revelstoke has the best billets, the best homes for kids to be in. It’s a life-long experience for both billet and player. They stay in touch. It’s kind of a life-long friendship that is a big part of it.

Anyone interested in billeting, or finding out more information on billeting, can email  [email protected].