THUNDER BAY – The commissioner of the Superior International Junior Hockey League is still holding out hope the 2020-21 season will still go ahead.
What it might look like is still a work in progress.
Darrin Nicholas, who took over the reins of the seven-team circuit this summer, said as it stands, it would be pretty tough to start up.
First and foremost, Canada’s border with the United States remains closed, at least until Sept. 21, with many saying it won’t be until 2021 at the earliest before it reopens to non-essential travel. That would all but eliminate the two American teams, the Thief River Falls Norskies and the Wisconsin Lumberjacks, from being part of league play this season.
Secondly, under current guidelines, teams will only be allowed to play in 50-player bubbles in Stage 3 of Hockey Northwestern Ontario’s return-to-play guidelines. This could change if the governing body for the game in the region advances into Stage 4, but there’s currently no timeline to do so.
Nicholas made it clear the SIJHL won’t ask for special consideration, saying they want to be a part of the solution and not part of the problem, potentially risking bringing COVID-19 cases into the various communities the league plays in.
“Let’s make no mistake. Under the conditions that are there now, we wouldn’t be able to operate our league,” Nicholas said. “The 50-player bubble, there’s an indoor gathering limit of 50 spectators right now, and those are really the two things that have to change.
“There are other regulations that it would be nice to change, but we can work around, up to and including the border situation. But if we have to play in cohorts of 50 and we can only have 50 people in the stands, those are likely going to be non-starters.”
The SIJHL can start training camps on Sept. 14, but have already pushed back the start of the campaign until at least Nov. 14, hopeful restrictions are further lifted by that point.
Nicholas said they have yet to build a schedule, with too much uncertainty in place, but are looking at a variety of contingencies.
Should the league get some certainty from the federal government about a border reopening date, the possibility of having the U.S. teams play each other for a couple of weeks, is a possibility.
Not knowing is the biggest issue, Nicholas said, which makes it tough for the Norskies and Lumberjacks to both recruit and retain players.
“What really causes the challenges is the month-to-month stuff,” Nicholas said