SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – American Hockey League President and CEO Scott Howson has announced that the league’s Board of Governors has approved moving the anticipated start date of the 2020-21 season to February 5, 2021, due to the ongoing COVID-19 public health crisis.
Howson had originally announced at the end of July that the tentative start date for the 2020-21 AHL regular season would be “no earlier than” December 4. Right before the beginning of the 2020 NHL Entry Draft on October 6, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the NHL would eye a start date of January 1, 2021 while training camp dates were to be determined.
As has been the narrative since the COVID-19 pandemic flared up in March, professional sports in North America is subject to change depending on the health in certain counties and states/provinces across the USA and Canada. Nothing is set in stone and should still be considered as penciled in beginnings to both the NHL and it’s top-tier developmental league in the AHL.
The AHL continues to work with its member clubs to monitor developments and local guidelines in all 31 league cities. Further details regarding the 2020-21 American Hockey League season are still to be determined.
This is a developing story. Stay tuned to The Sin Bin on social media via Facebook and Twitter for all the latest news concerning the AHL and minor league hockey as a whole!
