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ECHL 2020-21 Season Plans

royals119

royals119

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Jun 12, 2006
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West Lawn, PA
210 said:
Based on information right now, teams that can't play home games with any sort of fans that would be considered "north": Newfoundland, Brampton, Maine, Worcester...so that's four right there without any thinking about it. Plus other places have quarantine orders that would essentially prevent visiting teams from some states from playing.
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Pennsylvania currently limits to 25 people at an indoor sports event. This seems to include everyone, not just spectators, so the 25 isn't even enough to have players, officials, scorekeeper, camera operator, trainers, etc for a hockey game. I think it would need to get to 60 just to have a game. (two teams 36, staff 8, officials - on and off ice 13 - ice crew 3 and camera operator 1 ), and that's a skeleton crew. High school basketball teams are having a hard time fitting under the limit, without spectators.

NY's governor will allow indoor arts and entertainment venues to open at 25% of capacity on Sept 30, so maybe Adirondack can play, although they would be the only north division team with a home rink. NY still has quarantine orders, but MA, ME, and PA are OK, and I'm sure they allow Canadians in, so we could have a north division "bubble" in Glens Falls. Totally not economically feasable, but it appears to be permitted. Adirondack could play their entire home schedule against the division teams over a couple months while waiting for the other states to relax restrictions. The other teams could bus in fans for a couple "home" games. It would be tough to find 1000 people willing to shell out the cash though, and impossible to turn any profit on it.
 
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Atlantian

Atlantian

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Dec 13, 2017
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Atlanta, GA
Everyone so far has had good points. Hypothetically, if the north division (without ADK) and Kalamazoo all opt out, it’s feasible to move the conference line west and have a 20 team league with 4 divisions of five or just two conferences of 10. It’s possible that states could have dates set to lessen restrictions. If that’s the case, we could have two teams begin by playing 10-15 road games and start the home season around February. It’s not unprecedented. Victoria did the same thing their inaugural season while their arena was being built. But either way, if the restrictions don’t get lessened in the northeast, prepare for a shit storm of a season. I don’t think the league survives without one.

edit: I could also see a reduced schedule (48-60 games) with entire schedules played in-division. The north and central probably can’t do that but the mountain and south will have enough teams.
 
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GindyDraws

GindyDraws

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Mar 13, 2014
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Indianapolis
Eh, I'm used to seeing Indy play games against teams from Tulsa/Wichita/Allen on the regular. I just wanna know if it means we'd be visiting them and further west more or if they would just be having Idaho/Rapid City/Utah play far more times against each other due to them being the western fringe of the league.
 
JMCx4

JMCx4

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Sep 3, 2017
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Several arena owners are kicking themselves for not installing retractable roofs right about now. :doh:
 
Growlers

Growlers

Go Growlers!
Dec 9, 2017
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I can't see Canada opening up the border anytime soon. Also here in Newfoundland, we are only allowing people from 3 other Atlantic provinces in. So I really don't think there will be hockey here in St. John's this season.
 
Atlantian

Atlantian

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Dec 13, 2017
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Atlanta, GA
Based on the recent SPHL news, what do you think is likely to happen to the ECHL this season? The owners of Peoria stated they believe anywhere from 10-12 teams will opt out this season due to limited capacities. From the teams that opted out in the SP, based on locations, I’d say Indy Fort Wayne and Norfolk are the latest teams in trouble. Beginning to think it is likely we will see only the south and mountain divisions field most of their teams.
 
hurricanesfan123

hurricanesfan123

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May 1, 2019
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either 2 scenarios that i can see
1 it is canceled
2 they play with limited fans
and maybe but unlikely they play with some teams it wouldnt be the craziest news
 
GindyDraws

GindyDraws

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Mar 13, 2014
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Atlantian said:
Based on the recent SPHL news, what do you think is likely to happen to the ECHL this season? The owners of Peoria stated they believe anywhere from 10-12 teams will opt out this season due to limited capacities. From the teams that opted out in the SP, based on locations, I’d say Indy Fort Wayne and Norfolk are the latest teams in trouble. Beginning to think it is likely we will see only the south and mountain divisions field most of their teams.
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The state increased maximum capacity to 7,500 for Colts games (and the Indy Eleven), and they are running something called the Collective, which is a group of professional wrestling shows that originally were meant to take place back in April in the Tampa Bay region, this weekend (although at a much reduced capacity). Considering Marion County is the most populated county in the state, it has to be slower at reopening and the unique government structure often sees more restrictions put in place from the mayor of the city. There is a chance Indy and Fort Wayne could play this year, but I'm not sure. In the case of Evansville, I see them sitting out due to a combination of not having the Illinois teams and the fact that they have been a money loser since inception, particularly during that atrocious 2018-19 season. Being a loser on the ice and in the stands does that to a team.
 
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Jackets Woodchuck

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Dec 27, 2010
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Brampton can't play. Bodychecking banned in Ontario for this season.

EDIT: and possibly faceoffs. and 5-on-5 play.
 
Cyclones Rock

Cyclones Rock

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Jun 12, 2008
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Lake Simcoe Travels said:
Sounds like the ECHL is delaying the start of the season till January so this gives the teams a little more time.
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In August, the ECHL announced that the season would start on December 4th. This date is still circled on our calendar and we are working diligently towards it. A big part of this process is working with local and state agencies on a plan to safely host games this season. Currently our public gathering capacity is a state mandated 300 persons. This number includes players, staff, officials, and fans. In an effort to host more fans, we have submitted a finely detailed plan to the Health Department outlining the strategies and procedures that we will enact to keep fans safe this season. This is a very serious process and we welcome the Health Departments thoughts and guidelines in keeping you safe. We know that many of you have asked about the use of masks for this upcoming season. It is still too early to say but we will follow the guidance of the Health Department.
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Just got this email from my Cincinnati Cyclones ticket rep. I had spoken to him a few days ago and he had said that they had heard zilch from the league since the August announcement, so your info may be better than what I just got from the team. We shall see.
 
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Atlantian

Atlantian

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Dec 13, 2017
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Atlanta, GA
There are teams that already have their ice put in. I would assume all of them would be 100% in for this season. I know it's at least KC and Allen so far with Atlanta planning to put theirs in in November.

Just looking for any news at this point. As we get closer and closer to the announced start date I have just been refreshing for new news. I am assuming they are waiting for the NHL to make an announcement, but they should be making official announcements sooner than later, especially after the SPHL announcement.
 
JMCx4

JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
Sep 3, 2017
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St. Louis, MO
Atlantian said:
... Just looking for any news at this point. As we get closer and closer to the announced start date I have just been refreshing for new news. ...
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You simply need a hockey calendar adjustment. Think of October as a normal June: You're jonesing for the next season's schedule to be released, and looking for Silly Season fodder to carry you through to the next puck drop. Just forget the last 4 months, consider COVID this year's Silly, and you will return to your hockey comfort zone. :phew:
 
Cyclones Rock

Cyclones Rock

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Jun 12, 2008
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Atlantian said:
If Atlanta comes back I'll be surprised. We realistically could have seen the last pro hockey game in Atlanta for several years.
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I'm sorry to see that the Gladiators are not playing this season. I hope that you and I are wrong about their future prospects, but they do look pretty bleak right now.

The Cyclones probably won't play. The idiot governor is limiting indoor events to 300 people at this point. The Cyclones play in a 16,000 seat facility. It is truly absurd.
 
GindyDraws

GindyDraws

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Mar 13, 2014
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Indianapolis
I'm surprised Indy is playing a full season while Fort Wayne is opting out for a later start.

And, yes, the Walleye have confirmed Winterfest will take place next year instead.
 
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