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18 // APRIL/MAY 2020 USAHOCKEYMAGAZINE.COM As the situation in numerous U.S. cities continued to deteriorate, a conference call was convened in the early evening hours of March 11 involving USA Hockey's executive board, members of the organi- zation's youth hockey department and medical personnel to discuss the best way forward. During the call Dr. Michael Stuart, USA Hockey's chief medical officer, who had just returned from a conference of IIHF medi- cal professionals in Budapest, Hungary, offered a startling assessment of what the future had in store as the pandemic began to take hold in various parts of the country. " We pretty much predicted that there would be a domino effect," Stuart said. "They were very difficult decisions but we knew that the situation was evolving literally on a daily basis, if not hourly basis. I think we reacted appropriately to what was happening and some of the predictions and those difficult decisions in retrospect were the correct choices for our players, coaches, officials and families." The decision to cancel this year's National Championships and the Disabled Hockey Festival was a call no one wanted to make, but one that was deemed absolutely neces- sary to ensure the health and safety of play- ers, parents, coaches, officials and volunteers at each of the host sites. "Ultimately it came down to two things," said Pat Kelleher, exec- utive director of USA Hockey. "It was a very uncertain time, and in many ways it still is. And we had to make a decision that would put the safety and wellbeing of our members at the top of the list." Hours after USA Hockey announced its decision, the NBA sus- pended its season after one of its players tested positive for the coronavirus. The next day the NCAA shifted gears from holding its postseason tournaments, including the men's and women's Frozen Four, in empty buildings to canceling their events outright. And the NHL put its season on hold, and is still searching for a solution that will allow the Stanley Cup playoffs to take place. Nearly every other sporting event, music festival and cultural program followed suit. "That 48-hour period was crazy," said Keith Barrett, USA Hockey vice president and chair of the youth council that oversees the national championships. "It went from euphoria to disappointment, but at the end of the day we realized that what we did was correct and in the long run we're going to be a better organization because of it." T h e n e xt d a y U S A Ho c k e y b e g a n t o work with the host sites about bringing Nationals back to their respective locations in 2022. (Next year's host sites have already been named.) The thought of postponing the 2020 Nationals until a later date was thoroughly discussed, but the uncertainty of how long the current health crisis would continue to grip the country made selecting a date a moving target. No one knew then, and still doesn't, when life might return to "normal." When that day eventually comes, there was no certainty that host sites would have the ice available to stage the event. Pushing it off for several months would also step on the toes of spring sports as well as team tryouts for next season. "It came down to uncertainty and logis- tics," Kelleher said. "Uncertainty being the biggest factor, first and fore- most. We don't know what the coming months are going to look like." In the meantime, USA Hockey began using the time away from the ice as an opportunity to work with the game's stakeholders to develop new programs that will benefit every player in the future. And when the day comes that rinks open their doors and players return to the ice, it will be with a renewed sense of purpose and a greater appreciation for the game we all love. "If there's anything good that can come of this, I guess it's to appre- ciate each and every day that you get to go to the rink," McLaughlin said. "You never know what might happen." P PHOTO BY Harry Thompson The cancellation of the 2020 Chipotle USA Hockey National Championships and Disabled Festival came after numerous conversations about the health and safety of players, parents, coaches, officials and volunteers. We had to make a decision that would put the safety and wellbeing of our members at the top of the list."