Seven Vancouver Canucks have been added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, bringing the team’s total to 14.
The NHL announced Saturday that goaltender Thatcher Demko, defenceman Tyler Myers and forwards Bo Horvat, Tyler Motte, Travis Boyd, Jayce Hawryluk and Brandon Sutter have been added to the list.
They join goaltender Braden Holtby, defencemen Alex Edler, Quinn Hughes and Travis Hamonic and forwards Adam Gaudette, Zack MacEwan and Antoine Roussel.
The news comes as British Columbia set a record for positive cases Saturday with 1,072 new infections, up 1,018 from the day before.
It remains to be seen whether the increased number of Canucks players under protocol will result in additional missed games for the team. Vancouver has already had four games postponed, and as of now the team cannot practice before April 6.
Gaudette was pulled from Tuesday’s practice following a positive test result and added to the list that afternoon.
The NHL postponed the Vancouver’s Wednesday matchup with the Calgary Flames after another player — later identified as Hamonic — and an unnamed member of the coaching staff entered the league’s protocols.
Holtby, Edler, Hughes, MacEwan and Roussel were added Friday.
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A player on the COVID-19 protocol list has not necessarily tested positive.
The league’s protocols require players and staff to be tested daily. Any time an individual’s initial test comes back positive, the lab does a second test on the initial sample.
If the second test is negative, a second sample is collected. But if that sample returns a positive result, it’s considered to be a “confirmed positive.”
The league requires individuals with positive tests to self isolate for 10 days, and for close contacts to self isolate for two weeks.
