B.C. Division, Insight, Opinion

New Information Regarding BC Division’s Return To Play

Written by Adam Kierszenblat on

 

During a press conference on February 5th, 2021, the British Columbia government provided additional information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Although no plan was formally laid out about a return to play for the WHL in BC, we can use the information given to predict what a return to play might look like.

BC Division Hubs:

In a previous article, DUBNetwork looked at what a potential league bubble would look like. That article can be found here. The league however seems to be going with a different proposal. Instead of league-wide hubs, each division will have a different set up depending on what the province or state has approved. In BC, the concept of a two-city hub is gaining the most traction. The hub concept uses Kelowna and Kamloops as cities hosting teams. The proposal revolves around players moving into hotels and playing out of these two cities. Although expensive, there are some connections between the hotels proposed and WHL ownership. This is all the information we have on a potential hub city so far.

New Information Provided:

During the press conference on February 5th, Dr. Bonnie Henry provided some new information revolving around the return to play proposal. Due to concerns around the virus and new variants that have appeared in Canada, the league’s original plan was rejected and will be re-reviewed near the end of February. This means the earliest start date for the BC Division is late March.

There are many factors that go into this decision. The problems with vaccine rollout and not getting the supply promised may be one reason.

There is also a concern as many people are still ignoring the restrictions and throwing parties. We have already seen these bubbles burst in other sports, and that is concerning to Dr. Henry.

Recently, the NWHL had to cancel their season due to COVID positive tests even though they were in a tight bubble. We see outbreaks in the NHL and NBA that have led to canceled games. Dr. Henry and her team buying time to see how they can get the league back safely is better than having a potential outbreak scenario due to rushed planning. Everyone will have to wait and see at this point, but it looks like no new information will be available until later this month.

Extended Restrictions:

BC has extended their social gathering restrictions with no end date set. More than likely, this means no fans in the stands when the WHL gets approval to start up again. In other provinces, they are reviewing limited fans for games, but the BC government has remained firm on its position.

If no fans are allowed in the stands, it may be beneficial for the WHL to partner with local TV stations to broadcast the games to a wider audience. The WHL already has a streaming service that they have invested a lot of money in, but working with local tv stations to broadcast each game may be a better solution.

Other Divisions:

Each division has a different plan set depending on restrictions in their Provinces or States. This is what we know so far about a return to play in each division:

Alberta:

In Alberta, every team will play in their home stadium with no travel in or out of the province. The province has already approved a return to play plan with the first puck drop on February 26th, 2021. No fans will be allowed at games currently.

Saskatchewan and Manitoba:

For teams located in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, they are looking at a potential bubble format. Although there has been conflicting information, it looks as though a bubble scenario may be set up in Regina. Brandon and Winnipeg are also considerations for hub a hub city.

US Teams:

For the US division, it is very unclear what the plan is. The Governor of Washington State has reportedly approved a return to play plan but no information about the plan has been released. There is also concern surrounding how the playoffs would work with mandatory guarantees in place. Stayed tuned for more information on this division.