Wheat Kings staff make hub possible

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This article was published 11/04/2021 (1912 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In a Western Hockey League season like no other, the Brandon Wheat Kings’ unsung heroes don’t wear jerseys.

Athletic therapist William Sadonick-Carriere, equipment manager Scott Hlady and equipment assistant Jody Norminton are bringing order to the chaos that comes from what is essentially a two-month road trip with 31 players, coaches and team staff inside the hub as the East Division plays all its games at Regina’s Brandt Centre.

“We can’t sugar coat it, we can’t make this sound like this is the best thing ever, but at the end of the day, it’s the cards we’ve been dealt,” Hlady said. 

On Feb. 12, the WHL announced the seven Manitoba and Saskatchewan teams would be based in Regina, playing at the Brandt Centre and living in school residences. All players and team officials who were going to be living in the hub were to report on Feb. 27, giving Sadonick-Carriere and Hlady 14 days to get everything together.

Since last August, however, the trio had been setting up for an abbreviated but reasonably normal season.

“We were probably more prepared to be in our own rink,” Hlady said. “Once the ownership was announced and all that stuff cleared away, we starting prepping for our normal time and then it started getting pushed back and pushed back and pushed back. We got to the point where things were just sitting around waiting.

“We kept hearing about the bubble but nobody confirmed it, so when the decision was made, I wouldn’t say we were in panic mode but we really had to rush and come up with a plan to move everything over.”

Hlady reached out to Winnipeg Jets head equipment manager Jason McMaster for some advice and received a comprehensive list of what the National Hockey League club took into the Edmonton bubble last spring. It was actually a smaller list than what Brandon needed because the NHL supplied a lot while the WHL teams had to bring all the stuff they use day to day at home, right down to things such as pucks, tape and Gatorade containers.

The Wheat Kings did have lists from prior playoffs, but Sadonick-Carriere faced one significant obstacle that the others didn’t. 

Hlady started with the team eight years ago, and took the full-time job four years ago. Norminton has been involved for about a decade, although that also ramped up four years ago.

The athletic therapist started at the beginning of the 2019-20 season. Since the playoffs were cancelled due to the pandemic, Sadonick-Carriere had never personally experienced the extra planning that goes on in the post-season.

“(Hlady) has helped me along really well,” Sadonick-Carriere said. “I haven’t had a full season, so when we were packing up, I kind of hit the panic button and Scooter really calmed me down, showed me the list and said if we need it, pack it and we’ll get it there. I was thinking I might not need this, I might not need that, and Scooter was saying take it, you might need it and it’s better to have it than not.”

Essentially, everything in the dressing room that isn’t bolted down is now in Regina.

There was also a sense of disappointment. Since new Wheat Kings owner Jared Jacobson has taken over in September, all team facilities have received a major facelift, with the dressing room getting a complete makeover.

Everything was nicely packed in its new spot when the news of the hub arrived.

“The shock of taking everything down and taking everything apart that you’ve already set up and pack into a 30-foot trailer and hope you don’t forget anything was real hard,” Hlady said. 

To further complicate matters, the players are fitted for their new equipment every season when they arrive in Brandon. Since the players reported directly to Regina, all goalie and players’ equipment had to be taken and handed out there. 

Eight rookies added an extra wrinkle to the process.

“Me and Jody are pretty good at pre-sizing and pre-fitting everybody,” Hlady said. “We literally had every guy pre-fitted in our dressing room and packed up and told the returning players to only bring the stuff that they absolutely need.

“Any of the rookie players, we went off their previous years sizing when they were at prospects camp or we saw them. We were pretty lucky that way. I don’t think we had any major changes we had to make.”

Still, the team does have extra shin pads, elbow pads, pants, helmets, gloves and shoulder pads. That’s left in a locked storage area at the rink, although access to Level 1 is restricted.

Even with the careful planning, there are some problems that can’t be anticipated. The Wheat Kings bought a new skate-sharpening machine that quickly broke down and had to be sent back to the manufacturer. 

They’ve done skates with a used machine since, with the new machine expected back very soon.

It also warmed up quickly, so lighter jackets were sent for the players.

The team had a good stock of sticks already, taking more than 300 for the 24 players, and has only had to order one batch since they arrived. Sometimes you can’t account for things.

“Braden Schneider broke eight sticks in a week,” Hlady said. “For me to get him his stick in that period of time where he would be able to use it is basically impossible and then I would be scrambling.”

As well, with two dozen active young hockey players, some supplies simply don’t last.

For instance when more bottled water is needed, broadcaster Branden Crowe will head out to pick some up. Since he isn’t inside the hub and can’t have any direct contact with the coaches, players or team staff, he puts the groceries in Hlady’s unlocked truck and he brings them inside later. 

(The team doesn’t have a bus in Regina, instead relying on a convoy of personal vehicles.)

Assistant coach Mark Derlago takes care of ordering the catered meals at the University of Regina’s Paskwaw Tower residence, but Sadonick-Carriere is in charge of the light snacks they eat at the rink like granola bars and fruit. That also has to be delivered.

Each of the seven teams has an area inside the Brandt Centre set aside for it. While it’s only curtains separating the clubs, the barriers are treated like brick walls.

“Each area is separated by a magic curtain that no one can cross through,” Hlady joked. “The equipment managers and therapists are really good at helping each other if they can. We ran out of shampoo the other day — believe it or not, our guys went through eight litres of shampoo in the first month in the rink — and I had accounted that might last us a little bit longer and we ran out before someone could go get us some. 

“We borrowed a bottle from Prince Albert. That kind of stuff is easy.”

Even the equipment managers and athletic therapists can’t fraternize with their peers from other teams — although they do have some dealings from a safe distance — with one very important exception.

If a player is injured during a game, an athletic therapist can join his colleague on the ice if an extra hand is needed.

“That takes precedent over COVID,” Sadonick-Carriere said. “If we had an emergency like that, it’s been discussed in the emergency action plan and the protocols for COVID that if it happens on the ice and there’s an emergency, we go in and help them.”

He noted all of the team staff always has their masks on anyway.

The pandemic has added to Sadonick-Carriere’s load. He is Brandon’s COVID compliance officer, but it’s a job he unofficially shares with every member of the Wheat Kings inside the hub.

“Scooter and Jody have been great for keeping on the guys about masks, cleaning their stuff when they’re done with it, making sure their laundry is in “ Sadonick-Carriere said. “It’s a team effort. I guess I get the emails, but the first thing I do is let them know so they’re in the loop about how things have to run.”

He added the players have been excellent about always having a mask on when they aren’t on the ice, eating or showering. Occasionally a player has come out of the dressing room to change and doesn’t have his mask on, and a quick reminder is all that’s needed.  

Just as often, they’ll remind each other.

“Half the time I don’t have say anything because one of their teammates has already told them,” Sadonick-Carriere said. 

After last night’s game against the Prince Albert Raiders, which ended after deadline, Brandon has eight games remaining in the next 16 days. In such a condensed environment, monitoring the exhaustion levels of players is key.

That has also created extra work for Sadonick-Carriere, who was already hoping to introduce elements of the load management ideas he’s now employing.

“It’s been kind of a fun test run,” Sadonick-Carriere said. “I’ve gotten to play with it. The coaches put a lot of faith in me and allow me to tinker a little bit.”

He said they’re fortunate the players all came to Regina in good shape, and if a player needs rest, they get it without question. 

If overtraining creeps in, that can be detected via heart-rate data acquired through the monitors players wear in practice, and also by each player’s quality of sleep, which he quizzes them about.

With varying game and practice times that affect when they go to bed, that’s a challenge.

“Putting it in the players’ minds how they act away from the rink has been a huge help for us,” said Sadonick-Carriere, who does therapeutic work on player on a table in the hallway rather than in a private room.

The biggest change in the team staff’s day-to-day operation is the sanitization, which Sadonick-Carriere calls a whole new layer of work.

That makes for a busy day, because the trio are only allowed at the rink 90 minutes before the team steps on the ice for a game or practice.

“That kind of limits what we can do, and the biggest problem is that the laundry provided is six washing machines and six dryers that are just household units,” Hlady said. “You have to do laundry overtime they use something so underwear, towels, jerseys, socks, any of Will’s bands all have to be washed every time. 

“As you know, when you throw 10 towels in a household dryer, it takes two-and-a-half hours for them to dry.”

That’s forced fundamental changes to how they do laundry, including putting a lot less in the dryers, and allowing more laundry to hang dry.

Norminton also takes towels back to the dorms.

“That’s a huge amount of time that we are taking any from the players and being able to do the stuff that we would be able to do on a normal day back home,” Hlady said. 

The days when Brandon plays in the late game at 8 o’clock local time are the worst for the trio.

There is a pre-game skate in the morning, so they are up by 6:30 cooking breakfast and then heading to the rink. After doing their various tasks, they come back to the residence for lunch.

One day they were able to have a quick nap, but that’s not common. They return to the rink to set up for the game, and might not be back in their rooms until after midnight.

They usually find it hard to wind down, even if the alarm might be ringing at 6:30 again the next morning.

Despite the hardship, Hlady is grateful for the opportunity.

He noted the extra purchases Jacobson and the other owners made to deal with the pandemic, adding the additional costs of being in Regina can’t be overlooked.

“They could have easily said no and they didn’t,” Hlady said. “They’re giving the kids an opportunity and us an opportunity to work. I felt normal again once we started working. It just felt weird going to the rink and trying to find work, whereas here we always have work to do.”

The three men live together in Paskwaw Tower with video coach Daniel Johnston. Each has his own bedroom, linked by a pair of bathrooms and a common area that includes a kitchen and living room.

The kitchen allows them to make their own breakfast — Hlady is considered an excellent breakfast cook — and head to the rink well before the players.

It’s a respite from the rink, but not from the game.

“The hockey doesn’t leave my mind from the moment I wake up until the minute I go to bed, and I’m sure I’ve been dreaming about it some nights,” Hlady said. “I find myself always trying to figure out a better way of getting things done so that the players are more comfortable.”

Head coach Don MacGillivray has certainly noticed all the work the three men put in. He said they’ve been indispensable.

“First of all, these guys all care,” MacGillivray said. “They all care about the team, they all care about the players, you couldn’t have better people in those spots. They do their job as good as anybody in this league, and maybe even other leagues.”

“All three guys, the biggest thing for me is their passion for the team and being part of a team and wanting these guys to have success,” he added.

There is also a personal side to the situation for Hlady and Norminton. Hlady has a pair of busy teenage daughters, and it’s been challenging.

“It’s pretty tough to parent when you’re stuck FaceTiming with them but my wife is pretty awesome,” Hlady said. “She runs the household and has been keeping everything pretty square in that house. I talk to them daily.”

It was also a challenge for Norminton, a father of two whose son Jason helps out with the team in Brandon.

“That was one of the first things that happened, dealing with the disappointment of Jason thinking he was coming,” Norminton said. “We FaceTime every day to keep in touch and I make sure he gets the lineup before the game to like at home. I try to keep him as involved as I can.”

The small team within the team has also developed a firm appreciation for each other. Hlady is grateful he was joined by Norminton, who is able to share the heavy load.

“The nice part for us about Jody is that we don’t ever have to tell him what needs to be done, he’s usually a step ahead of us,” Hlady said. “That allows me more time to concentrate on what the players’ needs are, and we can maybe get a jump ahead on what might happen next or what’s going to happen … Jody is an experienced guy who can run the ship on his own and makes life easy easier for Will and I. 

“I don’t know what we would have done without him because there are just so many more responsibilities that have been put on us.”

While it’s hardly ideal, the situation has had its benefits.

For instance, Norminton doesn’t normally travel on the road with the team, so this has been a new experience for him.

“What’s different for me, other than the COVID stuff, is the interaction with the players,” Norminton said. “I’ve really enjoyed that, and that’s something new that I’ll be able to take home with me.”

Even with all the time Sadonick-Carriere spends with the players with workouts and treatment, he’s also seen a different side of the youngsters.

“It’s a bad situation with COVID but I really feel we’re making the best of it,” Sadonick-Carriere said. “It’s something where there will be a lot of fond memories of spending time with the kids. You’re picking up more about them than you would in a normal year because you have that much more time with them.

“I’m not going to say it’s a home setting, but you have that time at the dorm with them eating meals on an off-day where they can kind of relax and it’s not at the rink and business.”

Even Hlady, who once played for the club, is enjoying his closer glimpse at the guys. 

“We have to look at it as a truly unique, hopefully once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” Hlady said. “For some of these guys, we’ve seen them briefly at a prospects camp or when they played a game with us, but seeing for example, Jacob Hoffrogge, who hardly said two words after he got out of initial quarantine, to now he’s opened up and you’re striking up a good conversation with him and you’re finding out who he actually is.

“It’s unique in that sense. We don’t ever spend the whole day with these guys — we don’t have to be around them all day — and now we have to. Even with some of the veteran guys, you’re learning stuff that you didn’t know about them. 

“If you have the right mindset, we’ll all look at this as being an awesome experience and it will be something we never forget.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com

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