CALGARY -- COVID-19 forced the Western Hockey League to make a tough decision. In March, the league cancelled the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs.
But now it’s time to look towards next season.
WHL president Ron Robison said at this weeks' annual league meeting, every team made it clear. They want to get back on the ice next season.
“Our intention is that we will want to get our 68 game regular season in,” Robison said.
“That is a clear direction that we want to achieve. We’re not sure right now when the start date would be but we have targeted October 2nd as our opening date.
Robison knows things can change and the league has to be flexible. It’s also complicated in the WHL because they are dealing with six different jurisdictions.
“The position that we have taken is that we need all six of our jurisdictions, the four western provinces, Washington and Oregon to be ready in order to start our season," Robison said. "So this may in fact require us to consider a later start date.”
The WHL is a gate-driven league and one of the keys to getting them back onto the ice is to be able to get fans back in the stands.
Robison says they will need a minimum of 50 percent capacity in order to return to play.
“In the event that we can’t get to a certain spectator level that will allow our teams to operate, we will not be able to operate,” Robison told the media in a video chat.
“We will not be in a position to start play. So we need that spectator capacity to be resolved in order for us to commence play.”
Robison says the WHL will listen to what health officials from every jurisdiction. And the most important thing will be to get the players back on the ice safely.
“The health of our players is our first priority," Robison said. "And we will take every necessary precaution to make sure they are protected.”
