WHL delays season start to new year

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This article was published 14/10/2020 (2166 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Western Hockey League has pushed back its intended start date to Jan. 8 and plans to schedule all regular-season games as intradivisional matchups, the league announced Wednesday.

That means the East Division’s Winnipeg Ice, Brandon Wheat Kings and five Saskatchewan-based clubs, including the Central Division’s Swift Current Broncos, will see each other often in 2020-21, although the length of the regular-season schedule remains unknown.

Intradivisional play will also go on separately in the Central Division (five Alberta-based teams), B.C. Division (five teams) and U.S. Division (five teams).

The decision was the result of a WHL board of governors meeting earlier in the day.

“It has a lot to do with the hockey and the health departments in the different jurisdictions,” Wheat Kings owner Jared Jacobson told the Brandon Sun. “In the league as a whole, we have four different divisions and everybody is at a different stage in negotiating and finding out their return-to-play procedures with their facilities and their different teams in their different jurisdictions, so it’s a really hard balancing act.

“I think what was discussed today was just a way to kind of appease everybody and the health departments and move forward with an actual date that can be transparent to all the players, families and staff. I think it was a positive day.”

League officials are known to have considered reducing the schedule from the standard 68-game slate, including 50-, 40- and 32-game options. The Jan. 8 start makes that more likely. 

The WHL, one of Canada’s three major-junior loops, had said it would begin the pandemic-delayed season on Dec. 4 with training camps opening in mid-November after initially targeting Oct. 2 for restarting play.

The 2019-20 season was put on pause March 12 and subsequently cancelled.

With the new start date, players are expected to report to training camps following the Christmas break.

The league also said it has appointed Dr. Dhiren Naidu as its chief medical adviser. Naidu is an associate professor at the University of Alberta and head team physician for the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers and Edmonton’s CFL team. He recently served as the NHL’s medical director for the playoff hub in Edmonton.

“The WHL continues to work with each of the Governments and Health Authorities in the Provinces and States in Western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest, respectively, on obtaining the necessary approvals to commence play,” the league said in a release.

“Details regarding the schedule of games in each of the four WHL Divisions will be announced at a later date.”

Ice general manager Matt Cockell referred all media inquiries to the league office.

WHL commissioner Ron Robison was not immediately available for comment but Wednesday’s announcement left open the possibility the games could go on without spectators.

Earlier this year, the league said it needed 50 per cent capacity in its arenas for a season to be viable.

Meanwhile, a major spike in COVID-19 cases has prompted the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to suspend play in both of its Quebec-based divisions until at least Oct. 28.

Play will continue with five of six teams in the Maritimes Division. The Moncton Wildcats will be the exception due to the New Brunswick government moving the city into orange phase. The decision will be revisited in two weeks.

Last month, the Ontario Hockey League said it was targeting Dec. 1 for a start date.

mike.sawatzky@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @sawa14