(Western Hockey League)

By Jeff D'Andrea

WHL Return to Play

WHL commissioner Robison discusses Return to Play protocol

Jun 18, 2020 | 1:43 PM

The Western Hockey League is gearing up for a full-68 game season starting on Oct. 2, as they announced on Wednesday in their Return to Play statement.

But there will be a lot of hurdles to be cleared and questions to be answered by that time.

The tallest obstacle will be getting the go-ahead to start playing from all four Canadian provinces and two American states that have WHL teams; British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba in Canada, Oregon and Washington state in the United States.

Saskatchewan’s chief medical officer Saqib Shahab said back at the start of the month that he doesn’t expect Phase 5 of the Re-Open Saskatchewan Plan to be put in place until June 2021. As of now, gatherings of over 30 people cannot happen until Phase 5 is active.

And Shahab’s concerns came even while Saskatchewan finds itself among the best shape in the WHL’s umbrella. As of Thursday, Saskatchewan has 59 active cases and 13 deaths, second only to Manitoba which has eight active cases and seven deaths. Alberta has the largest amount of Canadian cases with 486 active cases and 151 deaths. Washington has been the hardest hit of the WHL hosting states/provinces, reporting 1,204 deaths.

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When Robison was asked during a Thursday media conference call about what confidence level the league has in getting the green light from all six health authorities, he said the league has been looking at each health authority and hired a task force to work directly with each government.

“We certainly monitor the positions of the individual provincial health authorities and state health authorities are taking with respect to these matters. We respect them fully,” Robison said. “Our intention is to simply enter in discussions with government health authorities to better understand what their position is and they need to understand what our position is—and how do we arrive at a point where it’s going to allow us to move forward with the season in a safe and responsible manner. We’ll look at whatever solutions we need to consider as part of that.”

Need fans in the stands

Professional sports have already restarted by playing in empty stadiums and relying on television and online broadcasts for their revenue. The NHL also plans to do that while they continue to set up their playoffs.

But Robison said the WHL doesn’t have that same luxury. The WHL is a gate-driven league and would need to have spectators in the building in order to make financial season for the WHL to return to play. Robison said before the league starts up play, rinks must be allowed to fill at least 50 per cent of their capacity.

“In the event we can’t get to a certain spectator level to allow our teams to operate, we will not start playing. We need that spectator capacity matter to be resolved before we can commence playing. But I think we can get there,” Robison said. “When you look at the re-open plans, it’s going to take time to get there but we think there will be a solution at some point. The target is at 50 per cent minimum, but we’ll have to see how those discussions go with the government authorities in the weeks and months ahead.”

Aiming for a full season

Robison said the WHL is poised on having a 68-game season. Even if the start time isn’t until December, Robison believes the league can still have a 68-game schedule while modifying playoffs. But any later than December and the season may have to be shortened in some form.

“We believe there’s a way to do that [have 68 games] and accomplish that, provided we can modify playoffs and also get the cooperation from the Canadian Hockey League to adjust the dates of the Memorial Cup. Everything is open for discussion right now,” Robison said. “We hope there’s going to be enough weeks to get a full 68-game schedule, that’s our priority. If we certainly get to a January start date, that’s going to be very difficult to accomplish. But we think we can get than accomplished, even if we’re starting as late as December.”

The WHL would be looking at a two-week period for training camp and preseason before the regular season gets started. For the Oct. 2 target start date, Sept. 15 would be the start of training camp. If the season’s start gets pushed until December, Robison said that period could be shortened.

The WHL is also monitoring the Canada-United States border situation. The border has been closed since March 21, barring all non-essential travel. Each time, the agreement has been a temporary one-month closure, with it having been extended each month. The closure will remain in place until at least July 21, until which time it could be extended or withdrawn.

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Jeff.dandrea@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @jeff_paNOW