Unheralded heroes take on 67’s unique playoff challenge
The Ottawa 67’s home games of their first-round OHL Playoffs series haven’t been normal home cooking.
With the first three home games of the postseason being played at Centre Slush Puppie in Gatineau, there have been plenty of talking points. Although no one inside the organization has been using the scenery change as an excuse, it has posed a challenge few other teams have to account for.
Chris Hamilton, the Barber Poles’ Head Equipment Manager, wishes he was capable of teleportation to move equipment, but science hasn’t progressed far enough just yet. Unfortunately, that means he’s had a sizeable workload since the playoffs kicked off earlier this month, accounting for numerous obstacles.
If you thought packing for your own vacation was difficult, imagine doing it for all the players and coaches. Pucks, sticks, jerseys, extra skate blades, tape, towels, visor cleaner, and snacks are only just the beginning. Simply put, there’s so much to remember.
“My list was two-and-a-half pages,” Hamilton said. “It’s a lot of stuff.”
A list of that magnitude takes plenty of time to curate, with numerous things springing up seemingly at random. Hamilton took inventory of the team’s facilities at The Arena at TD Place, figuring out what would make the players’ experience as close to normal as possible.
“Things have been in the works for a long time, it probably started over a month ago,” Hamilton said. “We came to check out the facility and get a rough idea of what our set-up would be, and from there, we started working on our plan.”
The set-up, although intuitive in nature, is pretty similar to what players would expect when rolling into a different city throughout the season, with a couple of extra bells and whistles.
“For the most part, it’s a traditional road set-up,” Hamilton said. “At the same time, because it is the playoffs and we’re technically at home, we tried to go over the top a little bit.”
The job extends beyond just Hamilton, with Athletic Therapist MP Néron taking on a heavier workload to ensure everybody’s safety. At home, you might notice paramedics on scene, ready in the event of an emergency, but what you won’t see is the action plan each team puts into place for them.
In Gatineau, things are different, with teams in the QMJHL playing their games without the presence of paramedics.
“We needed to develop a new emergency action plan,” Néron said. “We had to set the paramedics up and figure out where they would be staged during the game, and the seating of our doctors.”
Everything is done in Gatineau is with the goal of fostering the best environment possible for the players during their playoff push, giving them everything they need.
“It’s our goal that there are no excuses for anything,” Hamilton said. “Anything the guys could possibly need, we need to have.”
Having been with the Barber Poles since 2009, ‘Hammy,’ as he is affectionately known by the players and staff, takes his role to heart. He leaves nothing behind, working early in the morning, and long into the night, sometimes taking a quick nap before the players arrive for practice or a game.
No matter how you look at it, Hamilton loves his job, and always puts his best foot forward.
“I take a lot of pride in it,” he explained. “It’s the little things that can make the difference. You don’t do this job for the fanfare, the players and coaches appreciate it, they know what goes into it. That’s more than enough.”
Already accomplishing just about everything else with the 67’s, Hamilton has been looking forward to another chance to bring the J. Ross Robertson Cup back to Ottawa.
“The longer you’re in the league without winning, the harder you realize it is,” he said. “I grew up watching the 67’s, so it would mean the world.”
