Following a conference call among the three CHL leagues, the Candian Hockey League announced this afternoon that the playoffs and Memorial Cup will be cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
This will be the first time in the 102-year history of the trophy that it isn’t presented to the national junior hockey champion.
The decision comes after the cancellation of the regular season for all three leagues on March 12, 2020. A statement from the Western Hockey League was provided today with the update.
“We have continued to monitor the latest updates and advice from all public health agencies and medical experts, and worked tirelessly to determine a scenario by which the balance of our season could be played. Unfortunately, given the troubling state of our global climate and public welfare, there is still too much risk and uncertainty to move forward in good conscience.
With that in mind, CHL President Dan MacKenzie and Commissioners David Branch, Gilles Courteau, and Ron Robison, have made the difficult decision to cancel the OHL, QMJHL, and WHL playoffs, and along with the support of Kia Canada as the presenting sponsor, to cancel the 2020 Memorial Cup which was scheduled to be held in Kelowna, B.C., May 22-31, 2020.”
At this time it is undetermined what the exact course will be for the events that still remain on the calendar for the Western Hockey League. The teams are to meet in Red Deer in May to conduct the WHL Bantam Draft but it is unlikely to be held in the same capacity as in previous season. One thought is that teams will be able to conduct the draft via conference call.
This is followed by the NHL Draft, and those scouts will have to work extra diligently to select the best players available despite no playoff runs being completed.
Who knows at this point what the 2020-21 season even looks like, all players will have had about five months off of skating as a team. Will this cause NHL teams to keep players in the WHL for an extra season? Who will be the hosts of the next Memorial Cup?
