Image credit: Kamloops Blazers

By Earl Seitz

Blazers home opener

Blazers announce date and opponent for 2021-22 season home opener

Jun 16, 2021 | 10:51 AM

KAMLOOPS — The Blazers will play their home opener for the 2021-22 season on Saturday, October 9th against the Prince George Cougars.

Their first game of the season will be the previous Saturday, October 2nd in Prince George, before returning to the Sandman Centre for that fist home game on the 9th.

The full schedule will be released next Wednesday, June 23.

Finalizing the schedule follows the Western Hockey League’s annual general meeting yesterday, which confirmed a 68 game season and new playoff format.

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While the full Blazers schedule won’t be released until next week, it will go top heavy on road games early, for a reason.

“We purposely tried to set our schedule so that we did’nt have a lot of home games early, because we don’t really know what type of attendance we’re going to be allowed.” says Blazers President Don Moores.

There won’t be any interlocking between the Western and Eastern Conference next season —- a financial move based on the losses incurred in a pandemic shortened season, with no fans.

Fans in the Western Conference won’t get to see one of the most exciting young players in junior hockey — Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats.

Not next season, and depending on how the league moves forward with interlocking play after next season, maybe not at all before his junior career is over.

There’s a lot of hype surrounding Bedard, and he’s sure to sell tickets in every visiting arena.

Just not the Western Conference arenas.

“Well I guess I would say to that — we may see him once — but we have a lot of kids like Logan Stankoven, Mats Lindgren, Connor Levis — we have a long list of those kids that are going to be exciting to watch.”

Moores says it may also be an unbalanced schedule between B.C. and U.S Division teams in the Western Conference.

Playoffs are returning to a conference format, last used in 2014.

First place teams in each division will be seeded one two based on regular season, with teams three through eight within the conference seeded for playoffs.

“I think what we’re going to see is a different way to have different teams to play, expecially when you’re losing the Eastern teams.” says Moores. “It’s been a really difficult year — we haven’t seen any real revenues in 15 months, so we’re looking at different ways to try to monopolize on that. And try to find an exciting playoff breakdown and I think that was the reason more than anything.”