QMJHL confirms NB teams are returning

Saint John Sea Dogs

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League confirmed Saturday morning that its three New Brunswick teams will resume playing games when the province flips to the yellow phase, which is expected to happen at midnight on March 7 (fingers crossed).

From the league:

Following constructive dialogue and meetings with New Brunswick Public Health and Government officials, the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is announcing the return of the Acadie-Bathurst Titan, the Moncton Wildcats and the Saint John Sea Dogs to competition starting the week of March 8th.

A new schedule will be produced and released at the beginning of next week. Of note, the New Brunswick-based teams will only play against each other in March with fans in the building. The situation will be reevaluated with Public Health officials in the upcoming weeks.

"It's outstanding news for our student-athletes that haven't competed since late November," said Commissioner Gilles Courteau. "We want to salute the Government and Public Health officials of New Brunswick for their trust in our Health and Sanitary protocols. Our top priority remains the safety of our players, staffs and fans. We will continue to work in close collaboration with Public Health authorities to ensure a safe environment for all our participants."

The Sea Dogs have not played since Nov. 18 and have not played at TD Station since Nov. 14. The three New Brunswick clubs have only been able to practice for the past several weeks.

Saint John and Bathurst have played 15 games all season while Moncton has played a league low 13. The original plan, produced by the QMJHL in September, was for all teams to play 60 games by April 3.

It remains unclear when - or even if - the three New Brunswick teams will be able to travel freely in and out of the province to play the other Maritimes Division clubs. There is certainly some concern over the status of the Mooseheads, Eagles and Islanders with Halifax unable to play games until March 27 and the possibility of another circuit breaker lockdown in PEI.

It's also unclear how late into the spring/summer the QMJHL season could stretch with the WHL - and potentially the OHL - playing through April and into May. The WHL's US Division has regular season games scheduled until May 11.