The Canadian Hockey League announced Monday night that the playoffs and Memorial Cup tournament have been cancelled for 2020. The announcement comes just a few days after its three leagues cancelled the remainder of their respective regular seasons as the COVID-19 pandemic worsens around the globe.
From a CHL press release:
We have continued to monitor the latest updates and advice from all public health agencies and medical experts, and worked tirelessly to determine a scenario by which the balance of our season could be played. Unfortunately, given the troubling state of our global climate and public welfare, there is still too much risk and uncertainty to move forward in good conscience.
With that in mind, CHL President Dan MacKenzie and Commissioners David Branch, Gilles Courteau, and Ron Robison have made the difficult decision to cancel the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL playoffs, and along with the support of Kia Canada as the presenting sponsor, to cancel the 2020 Memorial Cup which was scheduled to be held in Kelowna, B.C., May 22-31, 2020.The CHL probably could have waited a bit longer before cancelling the rest of the post-season, but this was simply inevitable. All experts are warning that this pandemic will continue for months, and it seems unlikely that any sports in North America will be returning to normal anytime soon. It's probably best that many leagues start turning their focus to next season which, given the way things are going, could have some question marks as well.
While it's a tough day for all junior hockey followers, it's especially tough for teams like the Moncton Wildcats and Chicoutimi Sagueneens, who traded away most of their immediate future to make a run at this year's championship. Having a banner or two hanging above a rebuilding team often lessens the blow, but that won't be the case this year.
The Kelowna Rockets were set to host this year's Memorial Cup in late May. The Rockets have had a very average season and many thought they were the wrong pick to host this year's event - just ask the Kamloops Blazers front office - but one of junior hockey's best markets will obviously be deeply saddened by this news.
The Saint John Sea Dogs are one of the lucky teams that won't be greatly impacted by all of this. They'll no doubt take a hit financially like all businesses (losing a couple home games that would have been near sellouts especially hurts) but on the ice the best days for this group are ahead of them. The CHL news release also noted that the OHL would host next year's tournament, presumably maintaining the current host rotation and keeping Saint John's 2022 hosting dreams intact.
This is by far the oddest - and probably the scariest - ending to any junior hockey season. Here's hoping August brings us training camp as usual, giving us all some much needed normalcy.
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