On March 26, 2021, WHL Chairman of the Board Bruce Hamilton, appeared on the Scott Rintoul show on Sportsnet 650. Among the topics discussed by Hamilton and Rintoul were the WHL BC Division and the challenges in getting the hub season off the ground.
The main topic of interest for fans across the WHL though was something said by Hamilton following a short discussion about how the NHL is preparing for their upcoming 2021-22 season.
“We’ve moved our schedule back to start in October,” Hamilton told Rintoul. “Somewhat similar to what the NHL is doing, just as a precaution and I think to get out of that September start date.
“We used to always base it on because of school starting and things like that. We’ll get our players in school and going but I think we’re better off starting in October and then if we have to go a week longer then that’s fine.
“But I think just for safety sake we’re gonna look at that and then we will evaluate after we go through a year if that’s a good time to start.”
The entire interview can be found on Sportsnet 650.
Over the last 10 seasons, the earliest start date for the WHL regular season was September 19. It is generally started on the last or second to last Friday of September but has been held on a Thursday as well.
When exactly the teams will start is anyone’s guess, Friday, October 8th is the beginning of the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend and will allow for teams to start their training camps in early September and still have a few pre-season games.
Another point in Hamilton’s response to Rintoul is the pairing to the NHL season. This would give teams an opportunity to receive more players back from the NHL following their rookie and/or training camps.
DUBNetwork reached out to the Western Hockey League for comment and will follow up with their response in the coming days.
