Courteau comments on QMJHL's return

An article posted today by La Presse has shed some light on many of the questions surrounding the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's return.

The highlights from the interview with league commissioner Gilles Courteau:

• The good news: no players or coaches, to the league's knowledge, have tested positive for COVID-19. This is especially good news given how bad the spread of the virus has been in parts of Quebec.
• As expected, the QMJHL is looking at a number of scenarios for a return to play, with the 2020-21 season starting anywhere between September to January.
• One of the largest challenges for the QMJHL - and the entire CHL - will perhaps be starting everyone back up at the same time. Each province and state is currently doing their own thing, which could mean some places will be ready for a return while others may not be. Getting players across provincial lines and back to their teams could even be an issue.
• Another question that has come up: will all 18 teams return to play when the season resumes? Courteau says yes - but did note that some owners may face challenges depending on what goes on with their other businesses. Sponsorship revenue could also be tricky given what the business world is expected to look like post-lockdown. 
• Perhaps the most notable thing brought up is a change to the league's schedule, which were apparently planned before this pandemic. Courteau said there will be more back-to-back games in the same cities for teams to reduce travel and expenses. He also noted that there may be more games against divisional opponents (which would be more of a factor for the Quebec based clubs).
• Would the league play in front of empty buildings? Courteau confirmed what we speculated the other day: it's not happening. It just doesn't make any sense for the league's business model, which relies on ticket revenue.

The Quebec government made headlines a few days ago when they called for a cancellation of all public sporting and cultural events until Aug. 31. While the fine print of the announcement seemed to leave the door open for junior hockey training camps, common sense says the league is probably not going to be able to get things going on time.

The next major event for the QMJHL is the draft lottery and entry draft. The league has not confirmed dates for either event. The draft was to be held on June 6 in Sherbrooke but it has since been replaced by a virtual draft.