Mark Tremaine was just getting accustomed to life as a minor pro hockey player.
The former St. Francis Xavier captain was five games into his first ECHL season with the Newfoundland Growlers when the league initially suspended its schedule last Thursday as the coronavirus crisis spread. Two days later, it was cancelled outright.
“I thought I fit in pretty well and for the short time, it was awesome,” said the 25-year-old Tremaine, who, after the X-Men were eliminated from the Atlantic university playoffs, joined the defending league champion Growlers for their swing through Florida in late February. He was in the lineup in their final game last Tuesday in Brampton, Ont., before play was halted. He had one assist in five games.
“It was unfortunate to see my season end so early at St. F.X. We thought we could make a pretty good run at it again in my final university year. It didn’t happen. But in a sense, it did work out for me when (the Growlers) had some guys called up and needed some bodies to jump in. It would’ve been better to make run at it and keep it going but what can I do.
“It’s a tough way for a season to end. I wasn’t here very long but they are a good group and they definitely had another shot of winning back-to-back titles. It was a disappointment, for sure.”
While all North American professional hockey leagues have suspended operations due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the ECHL was the first to outright cancel the remaining season and playoffs.
The uncertainty about the timeline the league was facing and the financial implications for its franchises were too daunting.
Tremaine’s former St. F.X. teammate – 24-year-old netminder Chase Marchand of the Indy Fuel – said he heard rumours of a complete shutdown before the league suspended play.
“Ultimately you’re just hoping to keep playing hockey. That’s our job,” Marchand, last year’s AUS MVP, said in a phone interview Sunday from his Indianapolis apartment. “From our standpoint, we were hoping to find a way to keep playing. But obviously, it’s bigger than hockey and we need to make sure the well-being of everyone in the country is put first.”
“We heard rumblings,” Tremaine recalled. “We were in Brampton and were supposed to drive down to Kalamazoo for a Friday night game. We were supposed to head to the border on Thursday but it was then when the NBA shut down, the NHL shut down, practically everything was shutting down. We stopped and didn’t head for the border. Four hours later, there was a flight at 6:30 and back to Newfoundland we go. Of course, nothing was confirmed until the league announced they were shutting down (Saturday). It’s been a zoo but I guess it has been for everybody.”
While there is a smattering of former AUS players in the league, Dartmouth’s Tremaine, Marchand of Hammonds Plains and Halifax’s Brennan Saulnier (Rapid City Rush) and Mason McDonald (Utah Grizzlies) are the only Nova Scotians on an ECHL roster currently.
Average salaries for ECHL-contracted players are low, approximately $630 per week. Housing is provided.
The Telegram said that ECHL teams will reportedly pay their players through Monday and maintain health insurance coverage until June 30.
“We’re waiting to hear what the next steps are,” Tremaine said. “Still lots of questions."
“It’s going to be tough for us,” Marchand added. “We were expecting to be paid through to the end of the season. But we still need more information.”
In the meantime, players have been advised stay in their residence under self-quarantine until it’s safe to return home.
“We’re told to be smart and make good decisions,” Tremaine said. “We are cautioned to stay away from crowded areas like bars and such.”
“It’s been a weird time,” Marchand added. “We are in lockdown right now and told not leave our apartments. We’ve been in the unknown, not knowing what is going to happen. It’s pretty disappointing considering last week we were playing games and getting ready for this weekend. Obviously, things change so quickly.
“But the team has been great, giving us updates and telling us every news that comes along. We’re all following the pandemic, trying to stay in and not spread germs or catch the virus.”
Tremaine, who will be back at St. F.X. next year to complete his bachelor of education and assist X-Men head coach Brad Peddle, had a six-week teaching placement lined up for when he returned home. But now he’s unsure of that.
Uncertainty is a common theme, whether it’s not knowing where these minor pros will play next or the duration of the pandemic.
“As a hockey player and a pro athlete, you don’t know what’s to come especially in the off-season,” said Marchand, who has texted Tremaine and spoke to another former St. F.X. teammate – Bryson Cianfrone of the Orlando Solar Bears – since the league suspended play.
“The best thing we can do is take this one day at a time and try to get everyone healthy, then we’ll figure out the hockey perspective. “Everyone is in a similar scenario. We are all on the same page. Safety is first and foremost.”
