The Montreal Canadiens, who will play an exhibition game against the Maple Leafs next Tuesday, began training at the Bell Sports Complex in Brossard on July 13. Since camp only runs three hours per day, players have lots of downtime to kill.
In the age of COVID-19, the Canadiens have been advised to self-isolate as much as possible, so naturally, most have turned to gaming to pass the time. According to Brendan Gallagher, several of his teammates play Call of Duty: Warzone online. The 28-year-old right winger, who claims his gaming skills are “terrible,” says many would be surprised at how good some of the older players are.
Meanwhile, Victor Mete, 22, and Nick Suzuki, 20, have participated in an NHL-sponsored tournament for the EA Sports NHL 20 game. They ultimately lost to St. Louis Blues’ Colton Parayko, 27, and Robert Thomas, 21. Also, Toronto Maple Leafs’ Zach Hyman is currently hosting a four-day Fortnite camp for kids whose summer camp has been canceled due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Gallagher says that normally his teammates would grab lunch and hang out after practice, but now they get something to go and head home. So far the quarantine has worked. The Canadiens are tested for COVID every other day and there have been no positives, other than Brett Kulak and Xavier Ouellet, who tested positive before camp began. They rejoined their teammates this week following a quarantine.
Gaming is a natural outlet for the players since according to defenseman Noah Juulsen, “there’s a whole lot of nothing going on.” Aside from video games, players fill their time with watching Netflix or old hockey games, or facetiming with their families back home. They are also cooking more for themselves since restaurants are not allowed. “I spend time on the grill, which is something I like to do,” defenseman Jeff Petry, 32, said.
On Sunday, the Canadiens will pack up their games and head to their hotel bubble in Toronto at the Royal York, where they can enjoy room service and team meals. After facing off against the Maple Leafs, the team will take on the Pittsburgh Penguins in a best-of-five first-round postseason series, beginning August 1.
Source: The Chronicle Herald