Touring abandoned downtown Saskatoon in COVID-19 scare

Downtown Saskatoon was looking pretty empty on Sunday.

    I didn’t realize how unnerved I would feel to see downtown Saskatoon empty.

    As the governments at all levels of Canada continue to shut society down and promote social distancing to halt the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, I decided on Sunday to take a tour of downtown Saskatoon.

    The idea popped in my head one day earlier, when I drove through that area on a supply run with my mom. We were shocked to see how empty the streets were.

    When I went on Sunday, I was planning to drive around and take photos from my car.

The look of 2nd Avenue in downtown Saskatoon on Sunday.

    When I got to downtown Saskatoon and realized that seemly no one was there, I elected to park my car on 2^nd Avenue across the street from the Bank of Montreal and go for a tour on foot.

    I suspected it wouldn’t be hard to observe social distancing on this walk.

    Typically on a normal Sunday, downtown Saskatoon is vibrant and full of activity. During the summer months, you might encounter an event happening in the streets.

    On my Sunday trek, it was an odd different to see close to no one walking around, only the odd car on the streets unless I walked down Idylwyld Drive and almost all the parking spots sitting empty.

A look at City Hall in downtown Saskatoon on Sunday.

    An exception to the parked cars observation was by the old Hudson’s Bay building, which houses loft style apartments.

    Even Idylwyld wasn’t as busy as it normally is.

    For most of my tour, I felt like I was living a scene straight out of the 1971 movie The Andromeda Strain. Specifically, I thought of the scene where two scientists were walking through Piedmont, New Mexico, where most of the town’s people were killed by a deadly alien organism that was on a crashed satellite from outer space.

A look at the Delta Hotels Bessborough in downtown Saskatoon on Sunday.

    (*Side note – The Andromeda Strain is a good movie to watch, but it wouldn’t be good for viewing if you are really anxious about the current COVID-19 scare.*)

    The one big difference from The Andromeda Strain movie was I wasn’t walking around seeing the bodies of the deceased lying around.

    The one similarity was I saw a collection of buildings and streets sitting empty waiting to be used.

Most of downtown Saskatoon looked like everyone just dropped what they were doing and left. Most of the flags that were flown from various buildings were still flapping in the wind.

Signs still hung advertising the Juno Awards in downtown Saskatoon.

    Signs were still up in various places advertising The Juno Awards, which were set for March 15 in Saskatoon but were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Glam medal 1980s era style music still blared from Smoke’s Poutinerie. It caught me off guard to hear that music blaring into an empty street.

    Looking through the restaurant window, you couldn’t see a single person. If a kitchen staffer was on duty, that person was likely in a concealed away area.

    As I walked through downtown, I found the doors of some businesses were padlocked shut. A handful of businesses had signs flashing they were open, but I didn’t have the urge to go inside.

Music blared from Smoke’s Poutinerie.

    It was different to walk up to Hudsons Pub and see it sitting perfectly quiet. The only activity came from a staffer that stopped in to apparently check on the place.

    The Delta Hotels Bessborough sat there without anyone walking in or out of it, when I traveled past.

    I finally continued the loop making my way down 20^th Street towards Midtown Plaza. I came across the billboard sign from the WHL’s Saskatoon Blades asking the city to “stay strong.”

    Even if you somehow were able to avoid the news of the current day, you should be able to come to the conclusion that something terrible was going on.

    I proceeded to walk up Idylwyld and came across the Cactus Club Cafe. The blinds were pulled down over all the windows and the parking lot was empty around the establishment outside of about two or three cars likely belonging to staff that were working to the kitchen for takeout orders.

    Patrons usually have their photos taken at the outside entrance in front of the Cactus Club Cafe sign. I had never done during normal times, but I elected to take a selfie on Sunday.

Businesses in downtown Saskatoon were locked up.

    Going down 22^nd Street to get back to my parked car on 2^nd Avenue, I walked by TCU Place, The Bay on the north side of Midtown Plaza and Affinity Credit Union. All had an abandoned feel to them.

    TCU Place is usually jumping on a Sunday, and to see it not busy on a Sunday was odd.

During my tour, I believe I only encountered about three other people who happened to be walking around.

    While seeing downtown empty felt hollow, I felt safe in a strange way, because there was no one around.

An upbeat downtown Saskatoon billboard from the Saskatoon Blades.

    Before I got back to my car, I found a “stay healthy” billboard that promoted actions to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

    After arriving back at my car, I proceeded to drive home, which meant driving past the bus mall. I drove past a lady standing in the bus mall wearing a First World War style looking gas mask.

    It was the last reminder I needed to reinforce the current world was a changed alternate universe one. I still desperately hope the world can get back to normal sooner than later.

CHL cancels playoffs, off-season activities start

The SaskTel Centre and all rinks won’t host any CHL playoff games in 2020

    With all the cancellations and postponements that have been going on in the sports and entertainment worlds due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, it seemed it would be more and more difficult for the three major junior hockey Leagues under the Canadian Hockey League umbrella to host a post-season.

    On Monday, the CHL officially canceled all post-season activities for the WHL, OHL and QMJHL and the Memorial Cup tournament. The Memorial Cup was first awarded in 1919, and this will mark the first year since that time it won’t be handed out.

    Due to the uncertainty created by COVID-19, it was hard to come up with a scenario to allow major junior hockey playoffs to proceed.

    The current times even saw the upcoming Summer Olympic Games that were set to start on July 24 get postponed to next year. That announcement was made on Tuesday.

    In Canada, the seasons for all levels of amateur hockey came to a premature end due to COVID-19.

    In Saskatoon, the last meaningful competitive hockey game was held on March 12 at Merlis Belsher Place, when the visiting Moose Jaw Warriors downed the Saskatoon Contacts 5-3 in Game 3 of a best-of-five Saskatchewan Midget AAA Hockey League semifinal series. The Warriors swept the series 3-0.
    On top of the public health factor, I believe the logistics were making it too hard for the CHL to comeback and complete the 2019-20 campaign.

    There is optimistic hope the COVID-19 scare will go away in two months. Still, it is impossible to make that determination for sure, and even if you do, it is unclear what would still be present for government restrictions.
    Besides trying to navigate travel restrictions to get players back, teams also have to deal with finding availabilities with their facilities. Even during spring and summer months, arenas will be booked for concerts and conventions well in advance.

Zack Hayes’s major junior career has come to an end with the Raiders.

    On top of all of that, there is the expense of keep artificial ice in a facility, when it is not being used.

    While everyone seemed destined to miss out on something special due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it is sad the respective overagers on each club didn’t get one last farewell salute.

    The Prince Albert Raiders topped the WHL’s East Division for a second straight year with a 36-18-6-4 record. The cancellation of the rest of the season brings an end to the major junior careers of captain Zack Hayes, defenceman Jeremy Masella and left-winger Brayden Watts.

    The Saskatoon Blades qualified for the WHL post-season with a 34-24-2-3 record. The cancellation of the rest of the campaign ends the major junior careers of left-winger Riley McKay and defencemen Nolan Kneen and Scott Walford.

    The WHL cancelled its league awards function and Bantam Draft that were slated for May 6 and 7 respectively in Red Deer, Alta.

    The WHL Bantam Draft will be conducted online on April 22. Further information on the Bantam Draft and how the league awards will be presented will be given out at a later date.

    The WHL went about some off-season business on Wednesday. The league held its lottery for the first round of the WHL Bantam Draft, and the Regina Pats won the right to make the first overall selection.

    The Pats ended up with that selection after acquiring the Swift Current Broncos first round pick via the trade route through the Lethbridge Hurricanes.

    On Tuesday, highly touted bantam prospect Connor Bedard became the first player to be granted exceptional player status for the WHL, which means he could play full-time on the circuit in his 15-year-old campaign.

    Pats general manager John Paddock told Greg Harder of the Regina Leader-Post on Wednesday the Pats will select Bedard with first overall selection.

    On Wednesday, the WHL held its first ever U.S. prospects draft. The Red Deer Rebels selected forward Gracyn Sawchyn from Minneapolis, Minn., with the first overall selection. Sawchyn, who stands 5-foot-8 and weighs 130 pounds, piled up 32 goals and 51 assists in 54 games for the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres under-14 team.

    The Raiders took forward Jamison Sluys from Point Roberts, Wash., with the fifth overall pick in the first round. Sluys, who stands 5-foot-7 and weighs 145 pounds, had seven goals and 26 assists in 27 games with the Delta Hockey Academy Bantam Prep Green in the Canadian Sport School Hockey League.

    The Raiders proceeded to select forward Declan Stewart from Hawthorne, Calif., in the second round and 40^th overall. Stewart, who stands 5-foot-10 and weighs 133 pounds, played for the Los Angeles under-14 junior Kings last season posting seven goals and 13 assists in 55 games.

Riley McKay’s major junior career has come to an end with the Blades.

    The Blades took defenceman Ze’ev Buium from Laguna Niguel, Calif., with the 22^nd pick in the first round. Buium, who stands 5-foot-5 and weighs 125 pounds, recorded two goals and 14 assists in 56 games with the Shattuck-St. Mary’s Sabres.

    The Blades proceeded to take forward Brenden Fields from Ladera Ranch, Calif., in the second round and 23^rd overall. Fields, who stands 5-foot-6 and weighs 124 pounds, posted 28 goals and 29 assists in 54 games with the Los Angeles under-14 junior Kings.

    All the players selected in the U.S. Prospects Draft are born in 2005, which means they won’t be eligible to play full time in the league until the 2021-22 campaign.

    If you have any comments you would like to pass along about this post, feel free to email them to stankssports@gmail.com.

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