AHL anticipates February start to next season

Several questions remain, but at least the American Hockey League now knows when it would like to start next season.

AHL president and CEO Scott Howson announced Wednesday the league’s Board of Governors has approved moving the anticipated start date of the 2020-21 season to Feb. 5.

The AHL had originally eyed Dec. 1 for a restart. But that became impractical after the NHL and the NHLPA earlier this month announced Jan. 1 as a target date to start next season.

The San Jose Barracuda and all other AHL teams have not played a game or practiced since the second week of March. The league suspended play for the 2019-20 season March 12 as a result of the growing global health crisis, and officially canceled the season on May 11.

The Barracuda’s last game was March 10 in Stockton.

Although players such as Antti Suomela and Ivan Chekhovich are now with other teams overseas, most of the Barracuda’s players have not been in a game since the AHL suspended its season. The Sharks, who finished 29th out of 31 teams last season, were not part of the NHL’s Return to Play this summer.

It remains unknown how long an AHL regular season would be, where games would be held if not in each team’s home city, and whether fans would be allowed into arenas for games. For the Barracuda at least, Santa Clara County’s Public Health Department has barred spectators from attending professional sporting events, indoors or outdoors.

“The AHL continues to work with its member clubs to monitor developments and local guidelines in all 31 league cities,” the league’s statement said. “Further details regarding the 2020-21 American Hockey League season are still to be determined.”

Roy Sommer, the AHL’s all-time winningest coach, is back as the Barracuda’s head coach after he served as the Sharks’ associate coach for the final 37 games of the 2019-20 season.

Sommer’s staff includes assistants Jimmy Bonneau and Mike Chiasson, video coach and hockey operations assistant Nick Gialdini, John McCarthy as AHL development coach and Dany Sabourin as goaltending development coach.