CHL leagues still plan on playing

The Western Hockey League remains committed to playing games this season.

The league announced in a press release on Friday night that it plans to play a 24-game season when provincial and state health authorities allow them to do so.

From the release:

The Western Hockey League announced today the WHL Board of Governors have made a commitment to play a WHL 2020-21 Regular Season. The start date for the season will be determined once final approval has been received from the Health Authorities in each provincial and state jurisdiction and it is anticipated the approvals will be received soon.

All models and schedule formats are being considered by the WHL to ensure a WHL season is provided for the players. The 2020-21 WHL Regular Season will consist of 24 games.

The WHL seems quite confident in this release that a short season will happen. This comes at a time when COVID-19 cases are on the rise nearly everywhere and restrictions are being tightened. It also comes at a time when more and more Canadian junior players are heading overseas or to the USHL to play.

The Winnipeg Ice's Matthew Savoie, the first overall pick in the 2019 WHL Draft a top prospect for the 2022 NHL Draft, is joining the USHL's Dubuque Fighting Saints.

And in junior hockey news away from the WJC: The USHL’s Dubuque Fighting Saints announced the addition of Matthew Savoie, one of the top prospects for the 2022 NHL draft. He is expected to join the team shortly.

— Chris Peters (@chrismpeters) January 5, 2021

The QMJHL plans to return on Jan. 22 with its 12 Quebec-based clubs playing out of four "protected environments." The 12 teams will then be split into three "protected environments" from Jan. 30 to Feb. 7. Quebec's recently introduced evening curfew will reportedly not impact the league.

It's unclear when the QMJHL's six Maritimes Division teams will be able to resume action due to travel restrictions.

The OHL, meanwhile, announced on Dec. 23 that it plans to begin a 40-game regular season on Feb. 4. That seems unlikely given that the league still has not received government approval and restrictions are tighter now than they were at the time of this announcement.

"We are committed to playing this season and providing opportunities for the players in the OHL and the WHL to continue to develop," CHL president Dan MacKenzie told TSN during a world junior broadcast. "Even if the format doesn't necessarily look traditional - in terms of what it would look like if there was no pandemic. But at the end of the day safety is the main concern for us and that's what we're focused on right now."

The leagues are saying what you'd expect them to say in this situation. As for when they return, Gregg Drinnan said it best on his blog: "As I have written here on numerous occasions, the virus will decide if/when the WHL and other leagues will play, and let’s be honest — short of announcing that it was cancelling the season, what else could the WHL say?"