Some NOJHL teams struggle to find billet families for their players

The COVID-19 pandemic has made it more difficult for some Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) teams to find families that can host their players, said a billet coordinator with the Cochrane Crunch.

In junior hockey, billets are families that host young players in their community, and act as surrogate parents for those players who are often away from home.

Kayla Crawford, the billet coordinator for the Cochrane Crunch, said the team is still short of its goal to find billet families for all of its players.

"Right now, we have four families signed up, and we are looking to place about 20 kids," she said. "And right now, we have two families who are taking three billets each. Actually, there's even a third family that's taking three billets. A Lot of the kids are ending up having to go live with the coach, which is not ideal. Nobody wants to go home with the boss, but that's where we stand right now."

Crawford said all players in the NOJHL must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. League staff and billet families must also be fully vaccinated.

Robert Mazzuca, the league's commissioner, said billets are a critical part of junior hockey. "It's probably one of the most overlooked components of a successful junior team, not only in the NOJHL but in any league," he said.

Mazzuca said the precautions the league has taken, especially around vaccinations, should help reassure potential billets who would consider hosting a junior hockey player from another city.

He added the pandemic has posed many challenges for the league, and several teams have struggled to recruit enough billets to host their players.

But not all teams in the league have faced those same challenges.

Jason Kelly, a board member with the Timmins Rock, said the team has been able to find homes for all of their players.

"We were a few short but we're lucky enough that our billet coordinator has done a great job and she pretty much got all the billet homes done," he said.

Anyone interested in being a junior hockey billet can connect with a team in their region. Billets with the NOJHL must complete a questionnaire, go through a background check and be fully vaccinated against COVID-19.