QMJHL moving forward with Oct. 1 start

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is moving forward with its plan to return to action later this month.

The league announced this afternoon that training camps will open on Aug. 30 - a few days later than originally planned - and the regular season will kick off on Oct. 1. The QMJHL has been planning on an Oct. 1 restart all summer and has met enough public health protocols to move forward.

"In order to begin the season on October 1st, with training camps and return to school deadlines coming up at end of August, the league had to decide on whether or not to start the 2020-2021 season," stated a QMJHL news release. "The League’s mission is to develop players both academically and athletically while providing the safest possible environment. In view of the urgency of the situation and in line with our mission, the members voted in favour of returning to play on October 1st.

"Following our conversations with both the Provincial Governments and Public Health Agencies, it has been determined that the 2020-2021 season will be played behind closed doors in Quebec, while details are currently still being discussed for the Maritimes."

As expected, work is continuing on getting fans safely into buildings in the six Maritimes cities. It's unclear how many fans or just how that will work at this time. Teams seem to be favouring opening rinks up only to season ticket members, which would help with logistics. The Saint John Sea Dogs recently sent fans a survey regarding ticketing for the upcoming season.

The QMJHL also confirmed reports that training camp rosters will be capped at 34 players; the regular season will be 60 games instead of the usual 68; there will be three divisions of six teams each and teams will not play outside those divisions; the league will announce its playoff format no later than December.

QMJHL commissioner Gilles Courteau held a press conference this afternoon. Some highlights:

• Courteau said it would be a "bonus" if the league gets the green light to have fans in buildings in Quebec this year. It's believed Quebec based teams will receive some financial support from the provincial government to soften the blow, but that was not confirmed.
• The idea of increasing the overage player limit to four is still a possibility. Discussions are continuing with the NHL and the two other CHL member leagues.
• The league will have a new webcast provider this season - but those webcasts will remain pay-per-view. Prices have not been released.
• From a Wildcats news release: "There will be exhibition games, however, due to the ongoing situation with COVID-19, all of these games, as well as training camp activities will be closed to the public. The Wildcats will be streaming exhibition games live on our YouTube channel so fans can still watch; we will have those details in the coming weeks, along with the game schedule." Have to think other teams will broadcast this stuff as well.

The OHL and WHL have both delayed their starts until December, which gives the QMJHL some wiggle room in its schedule should games get postponed due to COVID-19.