October is a long ways away, and the Western Hockey League hopes they’ll be able to begin a full 68 game regular season on October 2nd.
The league released its return to play protocol earlier this week, on it are a lot of hurdles that need to be cleared before the puck can drop once again.
Following the conclusion of the WHL Annual General Meeting, the WHL has announced Return to Play Protocol for 2020-21.
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— The WHL (@TheWHL) June 17, 2020
WHL Commissioner Ron Robison said on Thursday, one requirement is being able to fill arenas to at least 50 percent capacity.
“Obviously as a spectator driven league we need spectators in order to make it work, that is a key criteria,” Robison said.
“We need to arrive at a capacity that will allow our teams to resume operations, we have set at the present time approximately 50 percent as a minimum capacity that we’d require in order for that to occur.”
Normally WHL training camps start at the end of August, with the regular season starting around the 20th of September.
Another point of concern is the current non-essential travel restrictions between Canada and the United States.
Robison said they have not made it that far in discussions, and says scheduling configurations with U.S. teams may still be up in the air come August and September.
One idea suggested would be to have the five U.S. based teams play out of one hub location in Canada.
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