The Grand Forks Border Bruins are still looking for billet families ahead of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League season opener this November.
The city’s Junior B team hast to find six more beds after last weekend’s training camp at Jack Goddard Memorial Arena, according to Bruins coordinator Karen Heric.
Out-of-town players are currently with their home families, said Heric.
All players will undergo a two-week quarantine before the Junior B season starts Friday, Nov. 13.
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“All billet families who put up boys last season have opened up their homes again this season.”
Families of local players have taken in a pair of out-of-town “billet brothers” who will live and play alongside their sons, she continued.
Heric attributed the billet gap mostly to the uncertainty swirling around the KIJHL’s delayed 2020-21 season–a season which she said nearly fell apart earlier this month.
Appealing to families who might be a little “COVID-wary” in the run-up to the fall cold and flu season, Heric emphasized that all Bruins players will be regularly monitored according to strict guidelines set by the province and the league.
“Our goal is not to bring illness in to the community and we’re confident we’ll hit that goal.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins have hired a communications officer specifically to handle the team’s COVID-related concerns.
As per “hockey tradition” in B.C., Heric said that billet families in Grand Forks and Christina Lake provide all the comforts of home to players joining the Bruins’ squad from out-of-town.
Families considering billeting players for this season are encouraged to email Karen Heric at karenmheric@gmail.com.
The KIJL season starts Nov. 13.
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