Contact tracing showed all 46 players and all coaches and Hockey Canada staff members were considered close contacts, and they are going through a 14-day isolation period at a hotel in Red Deer, Alberta.
The WJC is scheduled to be played at Rogers Place in Edmonton, about 100 miles north of Red Deer, from Dec. 25, 2020 to Jan. 5, 2021. No fans will be in attendance for the games, and the teams will be placed in a secure zone similar to the one used by the NHL during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Dean McIntosh, Hockey Canada director of marketing services, said Thursday the protocols in place for the WJC will be more secure than what was put in place for its selection camp.
"Our goal is to ensure that we know that the athletes and the administrators that meet the teams, as well as close people delivering the bubble, are in a very safe environment and are following the protocols that we've put in place," McIntosh said. "So that, combined with the support we've had from both the federal and the provincial government, we feel strongly about our ability to deliver a great event in Edmonton in December."
The IIHF has ruled that a team must be together for one week before arriving in Edmonton for the WJC on Dec. 13, and each member of the 40-person traveling party must have three negative tests for the coronavirus. Once arriving in Edmonton, all players and staff members will be in quarantine for five days in their hotel rooms and tested daily.
Scott Salmond, Hockey Canada vice president of national teams, said he's confident that after finishing the final 11 days of the 14-day quarantine, there will be enough time left in camp for the staff to evaluate the 46 players and put together a team.
Defensemen Bowen Byram (Colorado Avalanche) and Jamie Drysdale (Anaheim Ducks), and forwards Quinton Byfield (Los Angeles Kings), Dylan Cozens (Buffalo Sabres), Kirby Dach (Chicago Blackhawks), Connor McMichael (Washington Capitals), Dawson Mercer (New Jersey Devils) and Jack Quinn (Sabres) are among the players at camp.
Any player who tests positive after Nov. 29 would be disqualified from playing in the tournament. Salmond said there are no plans to bring in additional players in the event of multiple positive tests, with the exception of Alexis Lafreniere, who was selected by the New York Rangers with the No. 1 pick of the 2020 NHL Draft.
The 19-year-old forward is training in New York for the start of the NHL season, which is targeted for Jan. 1, 2021.
"Considering that where there is no contact at all being in your hotel room for 14 days ... we believe that we will be COVID-free coming out and we haven't even addressed an idea of bringing into the player [pool] from outside the 46, with the exception of Alexis Lafreniere," Salmond said.
