Next Season (COVID-19 Discussion Thread as it relates to the OHL) [Part 3]

[OMG67]

Thus the question - are the positives worth the negatives come February?

It depends on the weight of the positives and negatives. For example, what constitutes a negative? Obviously, anything that is bad is a negative. However, it is considered a negative if I lose $20 as it falls out of my wallet. It is also a negative if I lose $10k in investment losses as a result of a market crash. Thing is, it is a heck of a lot worse to lose $10k than $20.

So, back to the question at hand. The real question is what level of negative is acceptable? I will present a baseline for conideration:

48 game schedule. Each team ends up playing a minimum of 24 games after some cancellations. Each team averages 3 players that test positive for Coronavirus. None of the players have symptoms greater than a common cold. The season is completed, three rounds of playoffs are completed and the Memorial Cup is played and awarded.

Are there negatives in that scenario? Yes! Damn straight! Is the overall result a positive? I'd say so.

Is this viable? Based on virtually every athlete that has contracted the virus as combined with virtually every person under 20 that has contracted the virus, I'd suggest the part about players contracting it but having no bad symptoms is viable. Based on the schedule in the QMJHL and the number of games they've played to date, it is likley teams will be able to play at least 24. So, I think it is a viable expectation.

It depends on whether you want to look at just the negatives and let those negatives dominate the conversation.

 

[OHLTG]

Thing is, it is a heck of a lot worse to lose $10k than $20.

That depends on who's losing the money. If an NHL player loses 10K, he can work around it. If someone has saved 20 bucks for gas or food money for the week, that 20 is a big deal.

For me, it's not a matter of letting the negatives dominate the conversation, but being realistic with them. Do we really want cases growing beyond what they are in Ontario? We've seen what's happened in Quebec; postponements, cases going up for some teams, etc. Now, transfer that to Ontario, where cases have already started to skyrocket over the last month.

There are positives; players get ice time, money is made, and fans get hockey (even without seeing/hearing it). Do those outweigh the negatives, though? "A few players tested positive for COVID, but we made a few thousand in sponsorship." I don't know.

 

[OMG67]

That depends on who's losing the money. If an NHL player loses 10K, he can work around it. If someone has saved 20 bucks for gas or food money for the week, that 20 is a big deal.

For me, it's not a matter of letting the negatives dominate the conversation, but being realistic with them. Do we really want cases growing beyond what they are in Ontario? We've seen what's happened in Quebec; postponements, cases going up for some teams, etc. Now, transfer that to Ontario, where cases have already started to skyrocket over the last month.

There are positives; players get ice time, money is made, and fans get hockey (even without seeing/hearing it). Do those outweigh the negatives, though? "A few players tested positive for COVID, but we made a few thousand in sponsorship." I don't know.

Hypothetically speaking, as projected, 3 players (on average) from each team test positive. That’s 60 players. In the grand scheme of things from a spread perspective, it is relatively small. Consider that over a 3 month period. If the numbers average 1500 per day over that period, a total of 135,000 positive tests will be accrued. 60 in the OHL. Of those 60, it is still likely many of those players would have contracted the virus anyway. Maybe more considering what most young people are doing.

With no fans, I cannot see how the OHL would contribute to the spread in any significant way. So, again, let’s weigh the real negatives. Maybe the OHL will contribute to the statistics in some very minor to insignificant way.

A report released today states the NBA had 48 of 546 players test positive over the last week prior to gathering for their training camps. Of course, there is no mention of how many actually feel sick in any way but I imagine none of them truly feel “sick.”

With the NBA numbers in mind as well as so many other people not being ill in any meaningful way, I don’t see how playing OHL games would cause any significant impact. Players will be under more strict protocol than if they were at home. Regardless of their living conditions during the season, if they weren’t playing, they’d still be at home with their own family so it is not like their exposure is any different in season than out of season. They would still be living with a family and that assumes they would exclusively use billet families as opposed to other more secure alternate arrangements.

I am not suggesting the OHL is prepared to finance an entire season without fans either. I don’t know if that is even a possibility or not. I am suggesting it is a possibility. If fans are not attending games, then the players will come into contact with their billet families, other players and their coaching/training staff as well as any potential tutors. That is still a rather small group of people. It is unlikely they will be in the community shopping and participating in entertainment activities not sponsored by the team. Their movements will be significantly restricted, likely way more than the average 16-20 year old.

So, it comes down to weighing the negatives. To me, the biggest (possibly only) negative is game postponements as a result of mandatory quarantine if a player does contract the virus. I guess the other postponement reason could be a shut down of a specific area but other arrangements could be considered if there are no fans. Again, not ideal but not impossible either.

What other risks are anything more than a significant outlier? I cannot think of any related risks that wouldn’t be considered a significant outlier. None. Yes, a player could die. It is probably a one in a million chance but I think that would qualify as a significant outlier. A billet could die as well. That said, each billet and player has approved of the process and are well aware of any risks involved. Maybe a player could infect a billet who infects another person outside their family. Possible. Still not highly probable when looking at the statistics. The Rx rate is under 2.0.

Anyway, the point is the only real reason for the OHL to cancel their season is because it would “look bad.” Poor optics. Well, the other reason is $$$. IT is probable that if the OHL season is cancelled, the teams are choosing to lose less money now by cancelling the season while weighing that against the risk of franchise values going down less and they project a strong rebound next season.

 

[OHLTG]

Maybe the OHL will contribute to the statistics in some very minor to insignificant way.

The number of cases in Ontario has grown considerably over the last two months with a significant amount being (overall) under 40 years old. Unless you put them into an NHL or NBA-style bubble, which I doubt will happen, you're risking a lot. The Q has seen plenty of cases and postponements; they're the guinea pig, so to speak.

I'd imagine that if the league started up and cases spiked, the optics for that would be even worse. The OHL has seen what happens when other places open up without a complete bubble. It's not pretty. I've been looking forward to the season as much as anyone but, if cases continue to rise in Ontario (and, judging by people's attitudes, that's not stopping anytime soon), the OHL starting up in February would be questionable at best.

Frankly, I don't expect you to agree, so if this thing is going to go round-and-round, there's no point in me continuing. I love hockey and the OHL but I also know that it's not worth starting up right now if there's a risk that others, especially the vulnerable, could suffer.

 

[OMG67]

The number of cases in Ontario has grown considerably over the last two months with a significant amount being (overall) under 40 years old. Unless you put them into an NHL or NBA-style bubble, which I doubt will happen, you're risking a lot. The Q has seen plenty of cases and postponements; they're the guinea pig, so to speak.

I'd imagine that if the league started up and cases spiked, the optics for that would be even worse. The OHL has seen what happens when other places open up without a complete bubble. It's not pretty. I've been looking forward to the season as much as anyone but, if cases continue to rise in Ontario (and, judging by people's attitudes, that's not stopping anytime soon), the OHL starting up in February would be questionable at best.

Frankly, I don't expect you to agree, so if this thing is going to go round-and-round, there's no point in me continuing. I love hockey and the OHL but I also know that it's not worth starting up right now if there's a risk that others, especially the vulnerable, could suffer.

Trust me, I don’t disagree we will see cases and postponements/cancellations. That is a certainty. That is assuming there is no bubble.

Where I disagree is their impact in the “spread.”

First, it has to impact the spread. IT means there would have to be reasonable expectation more people will become infected if hockey is played. That is debatable. We can potentially agree there could be as many as 60 players test positive at some point in the season. One could say “there you go. 60 more infections.” Very true. But, we are assuming if there is no hockey, there will be no infections. That isn’t a reasonable assumption.

As you mentioned, the under 40 age group is testing positive at a very high rate compared to other groups. Trust me, many of these players have probably already been infected or would be infected regardless of hockey being played. That is the reality we live with daily regardless of hockey.

The “optics” really are the ONLY viable reason to cancel the season outside financial considerations.

111 Games have been played in the QMJHL. That is an average of 12-13 games per team in 8 weeks. The expectation of 2.5 games per week is 20 games over that time period. On average, each team has lost about 7-8 games off their schedule over that time period. That means they have played approximately 65% of their games. They are shut down for a couple weeks now prior to their normal Holiday Break so they will miss another few games each before picking back up in January. Keep in mind, large portions of the Province were shut down preventing games from being played. It had nothing to do with infections from players. One Drummondville player tested positive. 8 Members of the Sherbrooke team tested positive as well as 18 from the Armada but it wasn’t stated how many of them were players. Some were staff members. The only other incidents I have seen are staff members of other teams where they shut down operations as a precaution. In two months, two teams got hit (not sure how many were actually players) and a few other teams had some staff (non-players) test positive.

The reality is, it was the strong Province Wide lockdowns that have caused the games being cancelled in the QMJHL far more than infections amongst players. The Province has never shut down the league, just access to arenas. Currently, in Ontario, the only team in the Grey zone is Mississauga. Kitchener, Hamilton and Oshawa are in Red Zones. That is four teams potentially affected. I am not sure if current Red Zones make arenas off limits or not. Someone please clarify. IT is unclear what the US based teams will do but it is 99.9% certain if they participate, they will need to relocate for the season. I would assume Green/Yellow Zones would be priority for relocation spots. Belleville and Cornwall?

So, if the QMJHL is the “guinea pig” then I would say it has been more of a success overall. That is assuming people don’t actually think that if hockey wasn’t played no players and staff would contract the virus as members of the regular public which is a tad bit absurd of an assumption.

So, if this is about “spread,” I think the QMJHL has actually been a positive, not a negative. Sure, they have had cancellations but those were mostly based on the league choosing to shut down because too many teams resided in Red Zone with strict lockdowns that it made it difficult to operate with no arena access.

 

[HockeyPops]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

 

[windsor7]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

Money vs health?
Id think a season shouldn't be played.

 

[RayzorIsDull]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

I am not sure if there will be a season, at some point you would think the owners would just say yes. We have professional owners losing 100's of millions, NCAA athletic departments losing millions and having to cut programs. Depends on the appetite owners have to lose money because they won't be making any. Billionaire CFL owners had the avenue to play in a bubble and chose against it. If there wasn't a season it would be awful for the OHL and their future as a viable hockey development platform.

 

[Frank the Skank]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

I think next season should be a go, anyone who wants a vaccine will have it by the end of September

 

[WillardJFredricks]

September or October 2021 would be good.

I hope so, but I doubt restrictions will be lifted enough by then to let fans in.

 

[WillardJFredricks]

I think next season should be a go, anyone who wants a vaccine will have it by the end of September

Hopefully. But that remains to be seen. Also, I think they'd still want a few months to find out if the vaccine is actually slowing the spread. I don't think there's much reason to expect they'll get a vaccine program rolled out effectively. A year from now, we might get to see some restrictions eased, but given the response so far, I doubt anything will happen quickly.

 

[AttackSound]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

Under normal circumstances teams have challenges this year they have mass hurdles of them. Right now we are all spinning things in ways we hope that will see but let's look at this in a way that we all know.

1. The OHL has set start date and altered it a few times.

2. With all thats going on in the healthcare system these days who really has an 100% accurate answer on whether or not the season will be a go or canceled, well no one has a crystal ball on what will happen next.

3. Until we hear differently about it the league has set a start date and unless there's been a announcement saying otherwise we would have to believe that the OHL is still aiming for that date.

Plain and simple.

 

[OMG67]

Under normal circumstances teams have challenges this year they have mass hurdles of them. Right now we are all spinning things in ways we hope that will see but let's look at this in a way that we all know.

1. The OHL has set start date and altered it a few times.

2. With all thats going on in the healthcare system these days who really has an 100% accurate answer on whether or not the season will be a go or canceled, well no one has a crystal ball on what will happen next.

3. Until we hear differently about it the league has set a start date and unless there's been a announcement saying otherwise we would have to believe that the OHL is still aiming for that date.

Plain and simple.

Regarding the Health Care system, it is not being ober run. The issue with hospital beds doesn't have anything to do with Covid directly. The problem is we have LTC facilities that virtually shut down new admissions while elderly cointinue to fill beds in hospitals. For example, in Ottawan the Perley Rideau facility has 450 beds for capacity. They have approx 120 open right now. Many of those are single rooms. They are processing admissions of about 6 per week only.

The Ottawa Hospital, which services over 70% of Ottawa's 1mil population, has had 6-8 Covid patients with 2 of those in ICU as an average over the last 4 weeks.

There are some issues with staffing, especially in LTC facilities which have been a big problem with ensuring LTC capacity. This is for certain, BUT that is not a COVID spread or treatment related issue.

Ontario is hovering around 1500-1800 positive tests per day. Very few are being hospitalized. Not enough to overwhelm the hospitals to any degree whatsoever. At least nothing that cannot be shuffled if one or two hospitals are having issues. Covis patients can be easily transferred if necessary.

The Government needs to get the LTC issue under control and support reaching capacity to fee up the hundreds of beds currently being occupied by those waiting to be transfered to LTC.

All this is to say, there are answers regarding your second point. The Government is working hard to try to alleviate that problem. As they do so, hospital capacity becomes open and they can and will be less strict and more forthcoming.

I've layed out many points that take a more in depth analysis of the situation as opposed to looking at the first negative layer and simply throwing up my hands in defeat.

Many great points have been made about the financial impact and all of those may be true. Unfortunately, we aren't in a position to judge the cost benefit of playing the season so, really, the financial aspect will either play out or not. We simply cannot know.

What we do know or what we should know, is a season can be played with some interruption. That is a fact. We have seen many examples of this. For all the negatives surrounding the QMJHL, they really have done a great job overall and we should really be applauding their efforts and accomplishments. They've helped identify problems that can be lessened going forward. They've also shown what does work.

I think there should be a lot of optimism regarding the OHL playing this year froma Covid issues perspective. It will come down to cost benefit though. I do agree with that.

 

[rangersblues]

If the OHL doesn't play this season, the fallout from that decision would be catastrophic to the league and the brand that it is trying to build. If other area junior-aged leagues managed to play in some form or another (USHL, NOJHL, OJHL, NCAA, etc.) can you imagine the conversation next summer with potential new recruits? Gee, do I want to sign on to the OHL when they might not play hockey, or do I just want to play over here, leave my NCAA options open, etc. Even if playing ends up costing the teams money this year, to cost of not playing is much higher.

It's a tough enough pitch already, without adding this on top of it. That's why I think the OHL is going to play; because it's good business for them long term. Follow the money...

I think most will realize that it's an extraordinary, temporary circumstance and it won't be "catastrophic". I don't think many leagues will function at a high level this season if at all.

 

[OMG67]

I think most will realize that it's an extraordinary, temporary circumstance and it won't be "catastrophic". I don't think many leagues will function at a high level this season if at all.

The Ottawa 67’s play at Lansdowne Park. The arena they played in at Lansdowne Park was the Civic Centre. Lansdowne park was redeveloped to add a tremendously renovated Football stadium, many Commercial outlets with a mix of Retail, Restaurant and Entertainment facilities. Not much was done to the Civic Centre. The roof was fixed and some minor remodelling inside but effectively the arena itself was left virtually untouched.

To help facilitate the redevelopment, the Ottawa 67’s moved across town to Kanata and shared the Scotia Bank Place (Now Canadian Tire Centre) with the Ottawa Senators for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

The 67’s did not seize operations. They simply moved 26km away (20 min by car). That seems like a very minor inconvenience. Yes, it “seemed” that way.

What ended up happening was a mass exodus of their fan base. When left, the 67’s were averaging well over 6000 fans per game. They had tremendous season ticket holder support and were one of the Crown Jewels of the OHL financially. When they returned? Not so much. It took many seasons for the team to rebuild a fan base and they are still struggling to a certain degree and have not regained what they lost.

That was simply moving 26km away for two years to an alternate NHL facility.

Bringing this back to the question at hand. If the OHL doesn’t operate for a season, will there be fans that simply become disinterested? Absolutely. We saw that in Ottawa with a tremendous force. What will it cost over the next five years to regain that fan base? We don’t know because we don’t know what the ramifications will truly be. However, I am pointing at what the Ottawa 67’s experienced. A organization that was the envy of at least 75% of the league when it came to attendance and support.

I would hazard anyone thinking cancelling a season will result in fans simply lining back up like nothing happened with no significant loss of fan support. You can bet the OHL has done much work in this area trying to determine the long term effects of this option.

 

[rangersblues]

The Ottawa 67’s play at Lansdowne Park. The arena they played in at Lansdowne Park was the Civic Centre. Lansdowne park was redeveloped to add a tremendously renovated Football stadium, many Commercial outlets with a mix of Retail, Restaurant and Entertainment facilities. Not much was done to the Civic Centre. The roof was fixed and some minor remodelling inside but effectively the arena itself was left virtually untouched.

To help facilitate the redevelopment, the Ottawa 67’s moved across town to Kanata and shared the Scotia Bank Place (Now Canadian Tire Centre) with the Ottawa Senators for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

The 67’s did not seize operations. They simply moved 26km away (20 min by car). That seems like a very minor inconvenience. Yes, it “seemed” that way.

What ended up happening was a mass exodus of their fan base. When left, the 67’s were averaging well over 6000 fans per game. They had tremendous season ticket holder support and were one of the Crown Jewels of the OHL financially. When they returned? Not so much. It took many seasons for the team to rebuild a fan base and they are still struggling to a certain degree and have not regained what they lost.

That was simply moving 26km away for two years to an alternate NHL facility.

Bringing this back to the question at hand. If the OHL doesn’t operate for a season, will there be fans that simply become disinterested? Absolutely. We saw that in Ottawa with a tremendous force. What will it cost over the next five years to regain that fan base? We don’t know because we don’t know what the ramifications will truly be. However, I am pointing at what the Ottawa 67’s experienced. A organization that was the envy of at least 75% of the league when it came to attendance and support.

I would hazard anyone thinking cancelling a season will result in fans simply lining back up like nothing happened with no significant loss of fan support. You can bet the OHL has done much work in this area trying to determine the long term effects of this option.

I'm fairly certain that the original post was directed at top players losing interest in playing in the OHL if there wasn't an OHL season but hockey was played elsewhere. I don't think your average OHL fan gives two hoots if hockey is played in Tallahassee or Wichita or wherever.

As for your point about fans losing interest, it's's a definite possibility. But since this is mainly an in person league (I've heard Sportsnet can't dump the CHL fast enough as it only attracts local attention and not a national audience) I think that ship may have sailed. I highly doubt even if the OHL manages to pull off a semblance of a season, they would allow a meaningful number of fans to attend games.

 

[ohloutsider]

The Ottawa 67’s play at Lansdowne Park. The arena they played in at Lansdowne Park was the Civic Centre. Lansdowne park was redeveloped to add a tremendously renovated Football stadium, many Commercial outlets with a mix of Retail, Restaurant and Entertainment facilities. Not much was done to the Civic Centre. The roof was fixed and some minor remodelling inside but effectively the arena itself was left virtually untouched.

To help facilitate the redevelopment, the Ottawa 67’s moved across town to Kanata and shared the Scotia Bank Place (Now Canadian Tire Centre) with the Ottawa Senators for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

The 67’s did not seize operations. They simply moved 26km away (20 min by car). That seems like a very minor inconvenience. Yes, it “seemed” that way.

What ended up happening was a mass exodus of their fan base. When left, the 67’s were averaging well over 6000 fans per game. They had tremendous season ticket holder support and were one of the Crown Jewels of the OHL financially. When they returned? Not so much. It took many seasons for the team to rebuild a fan base and they are still struggling to a certain degree and have not regained what they lost.

That was simply moving 26km away for two years to an alternate NHL facility.

Bringing this back to the question at hand. If the OHL doesn’t operate for a season, will there be fans that simply become disinterested? Absolutely. We saw that in Ottawa with a tremendous force. What will it cost over the next five years to regain that fan base? We don’t know because we don’t know what the ramifications will truly be. However, I am pointing at what the Ottawa 67’s experienced. A organization that was the envy of at least 75% of the league when it came to attendance and support.

I would hazard anyone thinking cancelling a season will result in fans simply lining back up like nothing happened with no significant loss of fan support. You can bet the OHL has done much work in this area trying to determine the long term effects of this option.

I post on the OHL HF board - I think I'm pretty much an engaged fan of the OHL. BUT I'm starting to find other things to do. In September I really missed Thursday nights with the Spits. Now I don't even notice it is Thursday night. The longer it is shut down the less I will miss the OHL. I can only imagine what the casual fan is doing right now, I'm sure they are not even a little bit concerned. I will return when the OHL fires up again, will the average casual fan? I'm sure the OHL is very aware of this issue, they will find a way to get hockey to us no matter how it shakes out as a "season".

 

[OHLTG]

In September I really missed Thursday nights with the Spits. Now I don't even notice it is Thursday night.

Agreed. For the first few weeks, it was "I should be at the rink." This week? I had no idea what day it was on multiple occasions. I miss the OHL a whole lot but I'm at the point where, if they don't come back until Sept, I won't be that upset. I'll be there with bells on, no question, but I've more than accepted hockey's not returning anytime soon.

 

[windsor7]

I post on the OHL HF board - I think I'm pretty much an engaged fan of the OHL. BUT I'm starting to find other things to do. In September I really missed Thursday nights with the Spits. Now I don't even notice it is Thursday night. The longer it is shut down the less I will miss the OHL. I can only imagine what the casual fan is doing right now, I'm sure they are not even a little bit concerned. I will return when the OHL fires up again, will the average casual fan? I'm sure the OHL is very aware of this issue, they will find a way to get hockey to us no matter how it shakes out as a "season".

It is looking like when thd nhl or mlb lockout.
Casual fan cared less n it took a few years to come back.

 

[windsor7]

Agreed. For the first few weeks, it was "I should be at the rink." This week? I had no idea what day it was on multiple occasions. I miss the OHL a whole lot but I'm at the point where, if they don't come back until Sept, I won't be that upset. I'll be there with bells on, no question, but I've more than accepted hockey's not returning anytime soon.

Should be acceptable to say no season is coming.

 

[AttackSound]

I post on the OHL HF board - I think I'm pretty much an engaged fan of the OHL. BUT I'm starting to find other things to do. In September I really missed Thursday nights with the Spits. Now I don't even notice it is Thursday night. The longer it is shut down the less I will miss the OHL. I can only imagine what the casual fan is doing right now, I'm sure they are not even a little bit concerned. I will return when the OHL fires up again, will the average casual fan? I'm sure the OHL is very aware of this issue, they will find a way to get hockey to us no matter how it shakes out as a "season".

I think as diehard fans we all seem to be a lot like this now. Once or twice during this pandemic I've had to check the calendar to see what day were on and thinking to myself of getting all my pre-weekend sheet started then stare at the calendar and think oh yeah hockey hasn't started yet.

Just the social side of the game and talking stats and standings is something that is a missed thing right now. Thankfully I got all my pre-season preparation work done extremely early this year.

 

[Frank the Skank]

The Ottawa 67’s play at Lansdowne Park. The arena they played in at Lansdowne Park was the Civic Centre. Lansdowne park was redeveloped to add a tremendously renovated Football stadium, many Commercial outlets with a mix of Retail, Restaurant and Entertainment facilities. Not much was done to the Civic Centre. The roof was fixed and some minor remodelling inside but effectively the arena itself was left virtually untouched.

To help facilitate the redevelopment, the Ottawa 67’s moved across town to Kanata and shared the Scotia Bank Place (Now Canadian Tire Centre) with the Ottawa Senators for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons.

The 67’s did not seize operations. They simply moved 26km away (20 min by car). That seems like a very minor inconvenience. Yes, it “seemed” that way.

What ended up happening was a mass exodus of their fan base. When left, the 67’s were averaging well over 6000 fans per game. They had tremendous season ticket holder support and were one of the Crown Jewels of the OHL financially. When they returned? Not so much. It took many seasons for the team to rebuild a fan base and they are still struggling to a certain degree and have not regained what they lost.

That was simply moving 26km away for two years to an alternate NHL facility.

Bringing this back to the question at hand. If the OHL doesn’t operate for a season, will there be fans that simply become disinterested? Absolutely. We saw that in Ottawa with a tremendous force. What will it cost over the next five years to regain that fan base? We don’t know because we don’t know what the ramifications will truly be. However, I am pointing at what the Ottawa 67’s experienced. A organization that was the envy of at least 75% of the league when it came to attendance and support.

I would hazard anyone thinking cancelling a season will result in fans simply lining back up like nothing happened with no significant loss of fan support. You can bet the OHL has done much work in this area trying to determine the long term effects of this option.

The quality of the product on the ice played a large part in that also.

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

Posted this in the Rangers thread regarding some posters talking about cancelling this season and potentially next season as well, but figured it fits in here too:


This is all more related to the next season thread, but we can't get too ahead of ourselves on cancelling seasons. The 2021 season hasn't even started and we're talking about cancelling the 2021-22 season?

To me, it looks like this. Until there's a vaccine in the players/staff/billets/etc., there will have to be some sort of modified bubble. The players don't work (during the season anyways), they don't go to the grocery store, they don't have to physically be in a classroom. They can pretty easily stay within their bubble (teammates, staff, family, billets), and if they choose not to, fine the team. Everyone is losing enough money because of this and I'm sure an owner/GM/coach will have no problem holding a kid out of the lineup if he's going to be an idiot. Billets may still be working and what not, but if there's no trust that they can take proper precautions to help prevent the spread, then why are they allowed to house 1 or 2 teenagers for an entire season?

No one is forcing the kids to play. If they don't want to be apart of some sort of modified bubble, I'm sure there's a tier 2 junior league in Denmark ready to put their name on a jersey.

 

[OMG67]

The quality of the product on the ice played a large part in that also.

Average attendance was 33% when they returned. The only reason it raised was because they let minor hockey kids in for free. It still isn't back to where it was.

 

[Frank the Skank]

Average attendance was 33% when they returned. The only reason it raised was because they let minor hockey kids in for free. It still isn't back to where it was.

And when the team moved they fell to last in the division for two straight years.. just as a CFL team was coming into the city ... poor product combined with new competition is what led to the attendance drop