Next Season (COVID-19 Discussion Thread)

[OMG67]

I could definitely see more Ottawa/Gatineau games, for obvious reasons.

I’ve also been wondering if the league could sort of grow its relationship with the Q to include the WHL, which has US-based teams in Seattle, Tri-Cities, Portland, Everett and Spokane. Is there any chance of those 5 and the 3 US-based OHL teams coming up with something? Yes, I realize that the travel seems absurd, but let’s not forget that those American-based teams in the Dub already bus to the Brandons, Moose Jaws and Saskatoons of the world, so maybe it’s not so crazy to consider.

I think you could see more of the Sud and NB vs Rouyn-Noranda and Val d’Or. WHL and OHL American teams playing each other? MAybe if there were a flight involved but that would seem to be trying to make a square peg fit into a round hole so to speak.

 

[AttackSound]

 

[OMG67]

If people didn't like the idea of playing 3 games in 3 nights or 2.5 days. How are they going to like games on Tue, Thur/Fri, Sun in a week?? We have already seen in baseball how many injuries (non covid related) have happened and we haven't even hit the 2 week mark. 64 games in probably 145 days deducting a few days off during Christmas. Won't be much of a development league this year with fewer practices as well.

I see zero issues with 3 games in 2.5 days. It is not like it will be every weekend. Many of the longer travel schedule teams play these on a regular basis. Ottawa does it all the time. Last season Ottawa had Eight series of 3 in 3 and five series of 3 in 4. So, well over half of their games were in tight stretches. Ottawa used to do 4 in 4’s before we had two Michigan teams. That weekend started in Windsor on Thursday, would finish in London on Sunday and they’d play Detroit/Plymouth & Sarnia on Friday and Saturday.

For many teams like Ottawa, it is much better to knock off three Western teams in a Weekend as opposed to only two of them. IT reduces the total mileage dramatically. Conversely, many Western teams do that when coming out East.

Brian Kilrea used to say he didn’t care how long it took to get to where they were going for game one or how long the return trip was. All he cared about was the distance between the games on the trip once he got there. A 7 hour trip to Windsor sucked but from Windsor, they could go to Detroit in 30 mins and Sarnia or London in an hour or so. Back then when they went to Kitchener, obviously Guelph and Owen Sound was an easy triangle. In two trips they would kill 7 Western Conference teams for the entire season. The short term pain in those two series paid dividends with much less travel the rest of the season.

 

[OMG67]

Frankly the more I think about it, the more it's a pipedream. I don't think there will be a reliable vaccine and/or treatment by December. There's no plan to bubble. All you have to do is take a look at MLB to see how that's going to work. And there's no way junior hockey will have an additional 30 player pool to draw replacement players from.

I agree. IT is 4 months away so I think everyone is hoping something viable can happen between now and then. I don’t understand Dec 1 anyway. They play 2.5 weeks and then take a Christmas break. Doesn’t make sense to me. Why not just wait until January. Maybe that is the plan anyway. Who knows.

 

[AttackSound]

I see zero issues with 3 games in 2.5 days. It is not like it will be every weekend. Many of the longer travel schedule teams play these on a regular basis. Ottawa does it all the time. Last season Ottawa had Eight series of 3 in 3 and five series of 3 in 4. So, well over half of their games were in tight stretches. Ottawa used to do 4 in 4’s before we had two Michigan teams. That weekend started in Windsor on Thursday, would finish in London on Sunday and they’d play Detroit/Plymouth & Sarnia on Friday and Saturday.

For many teams like Ottawa, it is much better to knock off three Western teams in a Weekend as opposed to only two of them. IT reduces the total mileage dramatically. Conversely, many Western teams do that when coming out East.

Brian Kilrea used to say he didn’t care how long it took to get to where they were going for game one or how long the return trip was. All he cared about was the distance between the games on the trip once he got there. A 7 hour trip to Windsor sucked but from Windsor, they could go to Detroit in 30 mins and Sarnia or London in an hour or so. Back then when they went to Kitchener, obviously Guelph and Owen Sound was an easy triangle. In two trips they would kill 7 Western Conference teams for the entire season. The short term pain in those two series paid dividends with much less travel the rest of the season.

Same could be said for Owen went Belleville was around Attack had a smooth sched. Playing Kingston on a Friday, Belleville Saturday and Ottawa Sunday afternoon then drive back home to the Sound when they moved the Bulls to Hamilton it throw a wrench in travel for the team as they had to do 2 east swings not one a season.

 

[Tarantula]

I can’t believe the OHL swiped my press release!

08-05-20
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BadgerBruce Travelling Circus (BBTC) is pleased to announce that his 2020-21 travelling circus season will begin on December 01, with 64 live indoor performances in 20 Ontario and US communities.

“The health and safety of the little badgers, the badger trainers, as well as the travelling circus fans, is paramount,” said BadgerBruce Travelling Circus CEO Honey Bear-Badger. “With the cooperation of 2 national governments, 3 State/ Provincial governments, and 19 regional PETA units, the entire BBTC family looks forward to welcoming live audiences once again.”

For now, the little Badgers are remaining in their natural habitats across North America and Europe, but BBTC trainers and wilderness survival consultants are remaining in close contact to ensure a smooth return to Circus life in December.

Bless those little Badgers! The unicycle across the tightrope will always be my favourite!

 

[OMG67]

Canada is definitely better off than the US. That said, there's no chance of things opening up before a reliable vaccine, treatment or much more testing with quicker results. I don't think the country or province is willing to take that chance so a relatively small percentage of people can attend junior hockey games.

I don’t think you should look at it as “So people can attend Junior Hockey games.” I think you need to look at is as people being able to gather in large crowds safely. That includes industries and specific entertainment outlets that far exceed OHL/CHL numbers.

What you are looking for will not only satisfy the OHL but will put fans in all professional sports buildings/stadiums as well as art centres, museums, concert halls, banquet facilities, conference centres, amusement parks etc.

This is a pretty big deal when looking at it from that perspective. Many of the Professional Sports owners, especially NFL owners carry a lot of political clout. You have to think the lobbying going on in the background right now is pretty intense.

 

[count35]

I just took this release as this is what was told to the CHL by the government.....that the border WILL be closed UNTIL AT LEAST on or around December 1? So if that's NOT inside news i don't know what is? LOL

 

[IcemanTBI]

Interferon may be the best solution to fix this whole mess. Problem with vaccines is, while I do believe there will be one either by the end of this year or early next year, the amount of doses needed is astronomical and will take a long time to get distributed. Then there will be the antivaxers that simply will not take it. That's the idea behind Dr. Tam's comments today. What we need is a treatment to give to those who get it that can get better. Thankfully Interferon is probably the most hopeful of all treatments so far, and it's something that can be administered easily.

Interferon and COVID-19: 'We should be stockpiling' says researcher | Regina Leader Post

 

[windsor7]

I just took this release as this is what was told to the CHL by the government.....that the border WILL be closed UNTIL AT LEAST on or around December 1? So if that's NOT inside news i don't know what is? LOL

Could be a reality. Or closed till the new year.

 

[BadgerBruce]

Quebec could very well be the key.

New indoor gathering limits are raised from 50 to 250 and people only need to be 1.5 metres apart when seated and masks are not required. This is in August — if things go well, I could see Quebec raising the indoor gathering limit even more. If things go south ... well, you know where that road leads.

So if the OHL plans to use the next few months to convince governments and public health authorities to alter various rules that prevent the league from viably operating, my guess is a lot of eyes will be on Quebec.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-gatherings-limit-250-1.5660688

 

[windsor7]

Quebec could very well be the key.

New indoor gathering limits are raised from 50 to 250 and people only need to be 1.5 metres apart when seated and masks are not required. This is in August — if things go well, I could see Quebec raising the indoor gathering limit even more. If things go south ... well, you know where that road leads.

So if the OHL plans to use the next few months to convince governments and public health authorities to alter various rules that prevent the league from viably operating, my guess is a lot of eyes will be on Quebec.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-gatherings-limit-250-1.5660688

Windsor will still be in stage 2...

 

[MatthewsMoustache]

So from what I understand, American/European players getting here won't be an issue(?), but just the US teams will cause some complications. Was mentioned somewhere that relocating for a season is on the table, but shouldn't they want to know that ASAP to make all those arrangements/have them prepared as a backup plan if they can't play in the states?

 

[HockeyPops]

Here is a good article. Not much new info, yet a lot more colour provided.

London Free Press (Blogs): This is the Ontario Hockey League's return-to-play plan for next season.
This is the return-to-play plan for the London Knights, OHL | London Free Press

 

[AttackSound]

So from what I understand, American/European players getting here won't be an issue(?), but just the US teams will cause some complications. Was mentioned somewhere that relocating for a season is on the table, but shouldn't they want to know that ASAP to make all those arrangements/have them prepared as a backup plan if they can't play in the states?

For all the things the OHL has released there will still be a lot of unknowns that the league has to overcome before ice goes in to buildings. American and European players is one obstacle the league will have to overcome if travel restrictions are eased then teams will have to have quarantine measures in place prior to arrivals to cities. As for the U. S. based clubs there hasn't been a clear and definitive answer beyond no out of conference matchups.

The other area of concerns will be scheduling games as the January is the aimed start month and finish around late May for a June Memorial Cup. That will hopefully give enough time for the league to create a scheduling plan for all the teams to start divisional or some form of reasonable scheduling format.

Until we hear a more clear detail about those players and teams that are American born/based and what the league has planned for them, all that is clear is a 64 game schedule aimed for a December 1st expected start date.

 

[Otto]

So from what I understand, American/European players getting here won't be an issue(?), but just the US teams will cause some complications. Was mentioned somewhere that relocating for a season is on the table, but shouldn't they want to know that ASAP to make all those arrangements/have them prepared as a backup plan if they can't play in the states?

You have to figure that the league has various scenarios planned, and there probably has been communication with players/families... but they just haven't notified the public

 

[EnjoytheO]

I don’t think you should look at it as “So people can attend Junior Hockey games.” I think you need to look at is as people being able to gather in large crowds safely. That includes industries and specific entertainment outlets that far exceed OHL/CHL numbers.


Would you know the effectiveness of UV lighting and ventilation in an arena setting and pricing viability?

What you are looking for will not only satisfy the OHL but will put fans in all professional sports buildings/stadiums as well as art centres, museums, concert halls, banquet facilities, conference centres, amusement parks etc.

This is a pretty big deal when looking at it from that perspective. Many of the Professional Sports owners, especially NFL owners carry a lot of political clout. You have to think the lobbying going on in the background right now is pretty intense.

 

[Otto]

Not that she explained anything but Lisa Mcleod (Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries) just included the OHL with Canada's Wonderland, Santa's Village, etc. on things they are watching to open for people. So I assume it is regards to amount of people let in a building.

Canada’s Wonderland water park to remain closed for season due to COVID-19 restrictions

So basically.... because of Windsor

 

[BadgerBruce]

Here is a good article. Not much new info, yet a lot more colour provided.

London Free Press (Blogs): This is the Ontario Hockey League's return-to-play plan for next season.
This is the return-to-play plan for the London Knights, OHL | London Free Press

Thanks for the link. Appreciated.

I’ve been scrolling around this morning and reading different articles from OHL community newspapers and listening to a few radio interviews as GMs get out there selling the December 01 start date. I can’t remember which GM said this, but he let slip that the league’s ask is for 50% arena capacity.

Edit: found it. It was the Niagara team’s GM on the radio here:
IceDogs Return to Play in December, 64 Game Schedule

But a much more interesting article I found deals with NFL training camps and how the biggest Covid protocol rule breakers are head coaches.
NFL training camps during COVID: An unused snitch line, coaches breaking rules and bacon boxes

Anyway, if you read that article to get a sense of how NFL teams are running their training camps, ask yourself if you can envision OHL teams enacting similar policies and procedures. I so badly want to say yes, but I’ve spent too many years in this game and know too many of the people ... I’m not confident at all. For instance, I know a goalie coach employed by an OHL team who currently runs training sessions for tenders in the area, and he routinely breaks a host of the facility’s rules. Do I trust him to rigidly follow his team’s protocols once camp opens? Unfortunately, No.

I’m hoping that the league is doing more than just paying lobbyists to get the season started. Based on the NFL article I posted, there would seem to be a LOT of things to get right well in advance.

 

[OMG67]

UV lighting and ventillation changes?

Wow. That's pretty advanced but I understand what you are getting at.

If this type of program you are referring to was 100% required and it was for a long term benefit, it could be a viable topic. However, I think we'd be talking about a viability of one year benefit and after that there would be no benefit. The costs would far outweigh the benefit.

From a scientific point of view, I assume you are talking UV to kill the virus on surfaces and maybe even in the air etc? Hypothetically speaking, that could work. UV is used to reprocess masks as an example. The question is whether an environment could be set up that would satisfy the eradication of the virus using UV lights. I am not sure you would be able to set up a controlled environment to make that happen. Right now we are using closed chamber units in a highly conrolled environment. I doubt that would be able to be replicated in an arena.

Keep in mind, I am no scientist so I am making assumptions based on my understanding of this technology so what you are looking at may be theoretically possible but I think the development of that system would be measured in years.

Ventillation is a much different beast. Even health care environments aren't good enough to do what you may be looking for. High tech manufacturing or sterile environments may give a better indication of what would be required but even those environments are protected. I cannot see an arena being ventillated to the degree required for Viral protection.

Maybe there is a good mix of different technologies that would work in concert with each other to create a safe environment but I think that would be a very advanced setup.

 

[EON]

Part 2: Next Season (COVID-19 Discussion Thread) [Part 2]