Windsor Star

HOCKEY Spitfires aim for December return

OHL delays start of season as it grapples with cross-border logistics of pandemic

- RYAN PYETTE rpyette@postmedia.com Twitter.com: @Ryanatlfpr­ess

The Ontario Hockey League is shooting for a Dec. 1 start date to its 2020-21 season.

League officials are hoping that four-month window gives them enough runway to clear up major logistical issues, like crossing the border. Three of the OHL’S 20 teams (Erie, Flint, Saginaw) are in the coronaviru­s-stricken United States.

Officials are also confident the proposed 64-game regular schedule (four fewer than normal) with a familiar 16-team playoff and a Memorial Cup (June 17-27) that starts a month later than usual will keep the majority of players from looking around at other competitiv­e options.

“We have a lot of important details to still work out,” OHL commission­er David Branch said Wednesday. “We wanted to get the broad strokes out in return to play, structure and schedule. We play such a role in our facilities and communitie­s and want to try to be part of the solution for everyone to get back to some form of normalcy.”

The league wants to return to 5-on-5 action with normal roster sizes, though training camps planned for late November will likely feature fewer skaters.

The intention is to keep players at home as long as possible before the restart and reduce travel, hotel stays and cluster teams geographic­ally with no out-of-conference games.

Those clusters are expected to include the three American teams.

“What we’ve always looked at and strived for in all our decisions is that we’re one league,”

Branch said. “Certainly, there has been no discussion of being less than 20 teams strong. We recognize the challenge of the border and created (some time) in the next several months where we can have some resolution to that.

“There are a lot of things being considered and it’s our desire to present the game as we’ve always played it. But we know we have to remain flexible and focused with adjustment­s based on the environmen­t and government and health agencies.”

The OHL is primarily a gate-driven league. If teams aren’t permitted to house thousands of fans and open concession and merchandis­e stands, it will be a major challenge to pay the bills.

But in this environmen­t, that is considered secondary.

“We’ll explore every and all means to remain financiall­y viable,” Branch said, “but we also recognize that’s an area we’re not going to dwell on. People have lost jobs, businesses and places to live. There is a lot of hardship out there. Our problems should not be put out there and we want to be part of the solution in some small way of assisting in the process of getting back to normal.”

The Canadian Hockey League’s prize event — the Memorial Cup — is slated to be held in either Oshawa or Sault Ste. Marie.

Now that start-and-end dates have been announced, the work will begin on formalizin­g a bid process to decide between the two cities.

Branch said the league’s TV broadcast partners, including Rogers, have shown a strong interest in providing coverage at the same level — if not more. NHL teams also hold a key interest in junior hockey resuming to get a proper scouting report on the stars of tomorrow.

“The NHL has been very supportive on how we best go forward and we’ve not had an opportunit­y yet to debrief on their return to play,” he said. “What they’ve shown is having a plan is crucial and their attention to detail, from where I sit, has been phenomenal. They have had tremendous support and buy-in from the players and that’s so important.”

But these teenagers aren’t millionair­e profession­als. If junior hockey produces even one in-season positive for coronaviru­s, then the question of shuttering the entire exercise will need to be immediatel­y considered.

“Health and safety is everything as we move along and have a better idea of the landscape,” Branch said. “We will determine what we must do in terms of procedures — testing, temperatur­e checks and protocol — if, heaven forbid, someone were to test positive. We would never think of bringing a player back into startup if it wasn’t a safe environmen­t.

“That may not satisfy everyone and we would respect that (decision to not participat­e), without question.”

The league’s biggest stage is in London. The Knights, who annually contend for the title, attract an average of 9,000 people per game at Budweiser Gardens.

That may not be possible if restrictio­ns aren’t loosened, but the benefits of playing outweigh the potential pitfalls.

“We owe it to our players,” longtime London general manager and former Toronto Maple Leafs executive Mark Hunter said. “Our young men are trying to become hockey players and doing something they love, and it’s an awful thing to try to take that away from them. It’s a priority to try to put a league together. We want an opportunit­y to give the players a chance and for our fans to see a product. I think our league is run by the fans and hopefully, by then, everything’s good. But I don’t know that answer and it’s up in the air.

“We’re going to have to adjust on the go here.”

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 ?? DAN JANISSE/FILES ?? How many fans, if any, will be allowed to attend Spitfires games at WFCU Centre once the OHL season resumes during the pandemic? That has yet to be determined.
DAN JANISSE/FILES How many fans, if any, will be allowed to attend Spitfires games at WFCU Centre once the OHL season resumes during the pandemic? That has yet to be determined.
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