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The Ontario Hockey League is expected to make an announcement on Thursday morning regarding the 2020-21 regular season.
The speculation is that the league will announce a start date of Feb. 4, 2021 for regular season action with training camps beginning on Jan. 25.
OHL general managers met virtually on Wednesday morning where the start date was discussed and details regarding the regular season and playoff structure were discussed.
Reached for comment on Thursday afternoon, Soo Greyhounds general manager Kyle Raftis said he couldn’t comment on the meeting and the potential start date.
On Tuesday evening, Darren Dreger of TSN tweeted the planned start dates for training camp and the regular season while also noting a playoff system that would include eight teams, meaning the league would ultimately move directly into the conference final following regular season play.
OHL GM’s will virtually meet tomorrow. It’s expected the league will announce a Feb 4th season start. Training camps are expected to open Jan 25th. Eight team playoff also expected to be unveiled.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) October 27, 2020
The OHL had initially announced a plan to begin regular season play on Dec. 1 with training camps opening on Nov. 15.
A rise in COVID-19 cases in the province and the continued closure of the Canadian border with the United States, which will remain closed until at least Nov. 21, looks to have forced the league to push back the OHL start date well into the new year.
The OHL’s potential start date would be the latest of the three Canadian Hockey League’s member leagues.
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League began regular season play in early October while the Western Hockey League announced earlier this month that it planned to begin regular season play in January.