The BCHL announced last week that it intends to begin the season on Dec. 1, pending approval from the Provincial Health Office (PHO).
“We’ve been having discussions with the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture since March around a safe return to play,” said BCHL Commissioner Chris Hebb. “The PHO has indicated to us that waiting until December gives us the best chance at ensuring we have an uninterrupted season, while also maximizing the amount of regular-season games we’ll be able to play.”
A full schedule with a December start date will be announced at a later date, the league said. The pushback to Dec. 1 aligns with the NHL’s plan to start their 2020-21 season. However, teams will have the option to hold an extended training camp from September to November. There have been some rumblings that these training camps could be funded through player tuition.
Training camps will be permitted to begin as early as Sep. 8 under current mass gathering restrictions which only allow up to 50 people on the ice and in the stands. Teams may also continue to run summer invite camps up until that date.
“The reality is that, for us to be able to operate, we need to have fans in our buildings,” said Chairman of the BCHL Board of Directors Graham Fraser. “It became clear from our discussions with the PHO that the best way to accomplish this would be to delay the start of our season to give them time to assess the effects of a potential second wave of COVID-19 during flu season.”
