WHL determined to somehow, sometime, still have a season.

Only to have their hopes disappointed —- three times now on three set dates, eventually postponed — the latest being January 8.

While arenas around the league remain empty at what normally would have been about halfway through a normal season, the work goes on behind the scenes.

“Being on the governors call the other day,” says Blazers President Don Moores, “my sence is that there is a real resolve to play. We’re committed to our players. We know that our players need to play hockey. Our players want to be drafted, they want to move on and develop and that’s an important part. We have to play, whether that is with fans or without fans.”

The light at the end of the tunnel is that there is a vaccine coming.

But no guarantee on how effective it will be, or what percentage of the population will take it.

Even if it is effective the population will still have to abide by the rules — masking, social distancing —- for an undermined length of time. It will take so called “herd immunity” before the arenas can be full again.

“If we don’t have fans, we’ll certainly work with that to start off with.” says Don Moores. “Kamloops, for example, we have put some great ideas in play that we think will deliver a good product to our fans that can’t come to the rink. We’re hoping that as the vaccine is rolled out, there will be an opportunity for us to have fans in the stands.”

Once the pandemic does come to an end, at least one league owner isn’t painting a rosy picture for the forseeable future.

Speaking on Sportsnet radio yesterday Vancouver Giants owner Ron Toigo says “At some point there’s going to have to be some government support to survive, and without that, I think, you’re going to see failures across the country from junior A to major junior to junior B. It’s inevitable.”

“We know we’re going to have some teams that are going to struggle” says Bruce Hamilton. “It’s up to the rest of us to make sure that they make it through.”

It’s a trickle down, or trickle up effect if you will.

The lifeblood of the future of junior teams is also on hold.

Minor hockey develops players to feed the junior teams.

With no minor hockey season, that will impact on the 2021 bantam draft.

“There’s been lots of discussions with the GM’s about where that’s going to go, what’s going to happen.” says Don Moores. “We have a lot of quality men who have been dealing with the draft for years that will make decisions based on that. We haven’t seen a lot of players (minor hockey) play. Every team is in the same position”

In closing Don Moores says it’s been the most difficult year in the leagues history, but there’s a resolve to get through it, to come back stronger and move forward and get the players back on the ice and fans back in the arena.

“We’re frustrated. We’re covid fed up. We want to get back to hockey. We’re hoping that it will happen soon and we just ask them to be patient and stay safe and do all the right things that the health people are asking us to do and we’ll get through this quickly.”

by Earl Seitz

WHL determined to somehow, sometime, still have a season.

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