WHL adopt 68 game schedule for 2018/19

[AttackSound]

WHL announces new 68-game schedule for 2018-19 Regular Season – WHL Network


As a fan of the OHL for the better part of 2 and a half decades I've seen a lot of changes over the years with the CHL.

Since reading the WHL was going to change the schedule back to a 68 format from 72 games it seemed to make sense in a lot of ways across the CHL.

Simply asking what do WHL fans think about the schedule format change to 68 games with a 34-34 home-road that aligns with the O and Q leagues schedules.

Personally being from a OHL fan perspective it created close divisional and conference rivals over the years in the OHL but what does the WHL fans think??

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[PCSPounder]

WHL hasn't completely eliminated the 3-for-3 weekends, but there are apparently less of them. That's a good thing. Now if there were only a way to expand the calendar while not having players miss early season NHL camps...

 

[n00bxQb]

I'd like it if they continued to reduce the number of games, personally, at least for Hockey Canada's sake.

Fewer games allows for more skills training, strength and conditioning development, lower chances of injuries, and more time available for education and personal development.

That said, I realize these are businesses that are trying to turn a profit, so I don't have my hopes up too high.

 

[AttackSound]

As an OHL fan the 34-34 schedule has been around for decades now and has proven to work for these young talented athletes.

As both of you have pointed out strong points on different opinions on the matter, from an OHL fan perspective that has seen this format for decades in place the 3 in 3 or 3 in 4 method has worked well from a player standpoint in the OHL and has given more time for players to recover from injury and develop their skills set in the past few seasons not just on the ice but as already mentioned in the classroom as well.

What you will find will be that divisional and conference games will be more competitive and critical in the standings as that has been apparent in the O for years and teams will find creative ways to adjust their business models to continue to make a profit.

In the OHL certian divisional teams have had different pricing brackets for specific games and packages to attract people to watch the games throughout the season.

I would imagine that the W has had something similar in place for years too but should work for the fans across the WHL community.