Hockey players in the minors face uncertainty, job fears
By STEPHEN WHYNO
today
Tim Harrison made the long drive from South Carolina to his home just south of Boston with a lot on his mind.
The ECHL season had just been canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic, and the 26-year-old wondered if he’d need to dig for oysters on the beach or do odd jobs around the neighborhood to make ends meet. He and many fellow minor hockey league players are struggling and don’t know how they will afford to get to next season.
“I’m obviously going to try my best to do what I can to whip up some money, but it might take a couple weeks before I can even do that,” Harrison said. “Just not knowing what’s going to happen and how I’m going to survive the next couple months is probably the biggest worry.”
The 26-team ECHL — a developmental pro league just below the American Hockey League — canceled its season in mid-March, three weeks before the playoffs. The final paychecks came March 16, a significant blow to more than 400 players on ECHL-only contracts who make an average of $700-725 per week, less than $3,000 per month.
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