It’s been too long since we’ve seen the Western Hockey League in action. The WHL has been working steadily to try and play a season, communicating with numerous health officials and governments. Here’s what we know so far on when the WHL will start their 2020-21 season.
The WHL’S BC Division
As of writing this (February 6th), there is no official time and date on the WHL’s BC teams returning. In a recent interview with Kelowna Rockets broadcaster Regan Bartel, Commissioner Ron Robison spoke positively on their efforts to play in BC. Although their proposal to the province in January was denied, things are looking up for hockey in British Columbia.
In the same interview with Bartel, Robison said the WHL’s current proposal includes two hub cities (Kelowna and Kamloops) with all five teams (Victoria, Vancouver, Kelowna, Kamloops, and Prince George) playing in one of the two hubs. The Sandman Centre in Kamloops and Prospera Place in Kelowna are the two arenas in talks with hosting games.
It is unclear when this proposed plan could or will be approved. However, most people involved appear optimistic that a season will be played at some point. Hopefully, it’s sooner rather than later.
The WHL’S Central Division
The WHL Central Division consists of five teams from Alberta (Calgary, Edmonton, Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, and Red Deer) and one from Saskatchewan (Swift Current). In case you didn’t know, Edmonton was one of two sites for the NHL’s return to play last summer. However, there will be no bubble in Alberta this time around.
On January 28, 2021, the WHL received approval from the Government of Alberta and Alberta Health to start on February 26, 2021. They will play a 24-game schedule that will take place entirely in the province. The five teams will play six games against each other and games will be home and home on weekends. It allows for teams to play one opponent with five days of rest to adjust in case of outbreaks.
One interesting note is that the Calgary Hitmen will not play at their normal home, the Scotiabank Saddledome. Due to NHL and AHL protocols, the Hitmen will play their home games this season at the Seven Chiefs Sportsplex on Tsuu T’ina Nation, Southwest of Calgary. It’s going to be a strange sight as the Hitmen are one of the few teams that average over 10,000 people per game.
The WHL’s East Division
There seems to be a lot of discussion within Saskatchewan and the WHL’s Central Division. Nothing is conclusive but Sportsnet’s NHL host Jeff Marek tweeted earlier this week that the “WHL received approval from the province of Saskatchewan to host a bubble…”. He said that on Wednesday but again, nothing has been announced yet.
A potential bubble in Regina would include the five teams in Saskatchewan, plus Brandon and Winnipeg like Jeff mentioned. As someone with experience visiting Regina, I couldn’t recommend it enough. I covered the 2018 Memorial Cup at the Brandt Centre and would love the opportunity to go back. There are at least half a dozen rinks in the complex so there’s no shortage of places to play hockey there.
In January, the Saskatchewan government announced plans to provide $600,000 per WHL team ($3 million in total) to help keep teams afloat. It’s the only provincial subsidy for junior hockey teams in Western Canada, although we could something similar in BC soon. Most junior sports teams, not just hockey, rely on gate attendance for revenue and since hosting fans is impossible right now, don’t be shocked to see more governments get involved.
The WHL’s US Division
On Friday afternoon, the WHL unveiled plans for the US Division to commence place on Friday, March 19th. The five teams in that division will battle head to head in a 24-game schedule, featuring the Everett Silvertips, Portland Winterhawks, Seattle Thunderbirds, Spokane Chiefs, and Tr-City Americans.
These teams will be allowed to travel throughout the state to play with one another. I would expect that we see back to back games on Fridays and Saturdays while teams travel and rest in between those days. As usual, travel will be done by bus and restrictions will be quite tight in arenas/practice facilities.
There’s no word yet on if roster sizes will change this season. The NHL added “taxi” squads, which allows teams to carry an extra four to six players in case of emergencies. Obviously, the WHL doesn’t pay their players a salary as the NHL does, but there is still a financial burden on these teams and I’m not sure that adding extra players help. However, I could see the US Division adding some form of a taxi squad due to the high number of cases in Washington state.
Final Thoughts
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