Hamonic re-joins Canucks, finally breaks his silence on vaccination status

In case you missed the news earlier today, the Vancouver Canucks announced that they have recalled veteran defenseman Travis Hamonic from the AHL's Vancouver Canucks.

Hamonic had been on a private leave of absence from the team and missed the entirety of the Canucks' training camp and pre-season schedule, as well as their first nine regular season games to start the 2021-22 campaign. While there was speculation that Hamonic's leave of absence was due to his reluctance to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, neither the team nor the player would confirm that while he was away.

Today, Hamonic announced that he has been vaccinated (but not fully) and that he is following the NHL's COVID-19 protocol. It's believed that Hamonic is still only "partially" vaccinated however. 

Here's Hamonic's brief statement from earlier today:

More from Canucks insider Thomas Drance of The Athletic:

"Travis Hamonic declines to clarify whether has the status of a vaccinated individual or unvaccinated individual under the the NHL’s COVID protocol. In his original statement he said he is vaccinated, but also noted that he’s following guidelines until the process is complete."

Thomas Drance

“He’ll be doubled vaccinated soon,” said head coach Travis Green following Hamonic's media availability.

Reading between the lines a bit here it sounds like Hamonic, for whatever reason, was hesitant to receive the vaccine but has now chosen to go through the process. It's also worth noting that Hamonic opted out of the NHL's return in 2020 due to concerns over his daughter who has respiratory issues. Again, we can only speculate as to what this means but I'm certain that his family's health was at the forefront of his decision making.

The Canadian government's policy is for individuals to wait at least two weeks between vaccine doses and we can only guess when Hamonic received his first one, but it's worth noting that the Cannucks have a four game homestand and will not need to travel across the border for a game until Thursday, November 11th. Assuming Hamonic received his first dose at least a week ago he should be all clear to join the team for their mid-November road trip.