Catching up with former Raiders captain Brayden Pachal. (File photo/paNOW Staff)

By Jeff D'Andrea

COVID-19 PAUSE

Pachal playing the waiting game with the Wolves with season on pause

Mar 15, 2020 | 9:35 AM

A lot has changed for Brayden Pachal in the last year. He’s gone from being a captain and go-to player on the WHL Championship-winning Prince Albert Raiders, to being a rookie in his first professional season with the Chicago Wolves in the American Hockey League.

He’s moved from the small Saskatchewan city of Prince Albert to one of the biggest cities in North America.

But as of right now, he’s in the exact same boat as his former Raiders club. Every sports league, including the WHL and the AHL, has either postponed or cancelled future games from this season due to COVID-19, especially after the NBA suspended their season after Rudy Gobert of the Utah Jazz tested positive for the virus minutes before a game.

In Pachal’s case, he and his Wolves headed to the rink on Thursday to get set for a busy three-game homestand on the weekend, taking on the San Antonio Rampage, Rockford IceHogs and the Manitoba Moose Friday through Sunday. But quickly, the team learned that none of those games would be going on.

“It was quick. It went from obviously being a scary thing around the world, but it wasn’t really affecting us. Then the NBA player got it and ever since then, all the professional world is taking a hit,” Pachal said. “We just follow what we’re told and see what happens from here.”

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Practices and team meetings have been put on hold for the Wolves, which has become a standard response by teams across North American in response to the pandemic. Players don’t have to confine themselves to their home, but they’re being asked to stay in the city.

“It’s pretty much day by day for us, we’re not allowed to practice or have team meetings, but we’re supposed to stay in Chicago for the time being,” Pachal said. “They told us the AHL could lift the practice ban and meeting ban at any moment, so we just got to be prepared and on stand-by pretty much.”

For Pachal who grew up in Estevan and finished out his junior career in Prince Albert, Chicago is a big change in many ways. The biggest one is obviously its size with a population of 2.7 million, which is almost three times the population of all of Saskatchewan.

According to NBC Chicago, there are a total of 64 cases of coronavirus in the state of Illinois, compared to six in Saskatchewan.

Being in a huge centre like that, especially with the O’Hare International Airport, Pachal said you have to be even more careful in times like this.

“It’s a little different for us. We’re in a bigger centre with the O’Hare airport here and all the international travel that’s going on here. It’s a little different, you have to be a little more cautious than you would in Prince Albert,” Pachal said. “There’s a lot more people here and a lot more chance for infection, so you have to do your best to wash your hands.”

Before the season was put on pause, Pachal had a goal and 10 points in his first 48 games with the Wolves. He signed an entry level contract with the Vegas Golden Knights on Sept. 20.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW