On Wednesday, the WHL announced via press release that the league "has targeted a start date of Friday, October 2 for the 2020-21 WHL Regular Season, but this date remains contingent on receiving the necessary approvals from government and health authorities in each of the six jurisdictions in WHL territory. The WHL is committed to protecting the integrity of the WHL Regular Season schedule, and fully intends to complete a full 68-game schedule for 2020-21, regardless of when the season begins."
That date aligns with what the QMJHL previously announced, saying they intend to start the regular season on Oct. 1.
On a Zoom call with media Thursday afternoon, WHL commissioner Ron Robison made a number of noteworthy comments.
- Via ESPN Seattle, Robison said "our intention is that we will want to get our 68-game regular season schedule in.” ESPN added that "Robison did not leave out pushing that start date back and felt that the league could still get a full schedule in with a start as late as early December."
- Robison said that if the October start date works out, training camps would begin Sept. 15. Kamloops reporter Marty Hastings tweeted that "if regular season starts in December, camp would likely be shortened. The later the start date, the shorter the camp."
- The league will look at modified playoff formats if needed, which is something the QMJHL has not brought up much.
- Another Hastings tweet: "Is there a hard deadline, a point at which the season has to be nixed? No discussion on that, Robison said. Committed to playing the WHL season."
- Robison's most noteworthy comment regarded building capacity, saying the league will not be able to operate until they receive approval to have buildings at, at least, 50% capacity. Could a team at least start the season without 50% capacity? It doesn't sound like it. "No scenario is expected to be considered in which a team begins the campaign with a maximum capacity of less than 50%," writes Kamloops This Week.
The WHL may be the most complicated of the three leagues to get going given that it must work with six different provincial/state governments. We'll see how that goes.
The OHL, meanwhile, officially said this week that they intend to start the regular season in the fall.
"The OHL is looking forward to the upcoming hockey season," said OHL commissioner David Branch in a press release. "We plan to drop the puck in the fall and will follow the lead of government and public health agencies on when it is safe to get back on the ice. Our players and coaches are getting ready to play and our teams are working on their plans to provide the great experience our fans and the community have come to expect from OHL hockey."
In the QMJHL, commissioner Gilles Courteau said in an interview with the Chronicle Herald that he is getting more and more optimistic that the league will be able to hit its Oct. 1 start date target. Courteau said he hasn't locked down training camp details yet, but by the sounds of it, QMJHL camps will likely look like what the WHL is planning on, trimming them to two weeks or even less.
This is all great, positive news. So here's some negative news: Dr. Anthony Fauci told the Los Angeles Times this week that Major League Baseball should try and wrap up its season before October, saying there is a higher chance of there being coronavirus complications when the weather gets colder.
Fauci added on Thursday that it may be difficult for the NFL to safely play at all this fall unless they are in a bubble environment like the NHL and NBA have planned.
"If there is a second wave, which is certainly a possibility and which would be complicated by the predictable flu season, football may not happen this year," he told CNN, via USA Today.
Let's hope things keep moving in a positive direction.
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