OHL cancels season, WHL cancels playoffs

This just in, the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) has officially cancelled its season and playoffs, citing the recently extended stay at home order in Ontario along with increasing cases of COVID-19 across the province making it impossible for the league to complete its season.

“We have worked tirelessly with the Province and the Chief Medical Officer of Health for the past year on different scenarios and different windows of opportunity but the reality is the conditions in Ontario have never been right to start and complete an uninterrupted, safe opportunity for players to showcase their skills,” said OHL Commissioner David Branch. “We owe it to our players and their families to be definitive. We were committed to return and play this season, but our hopes and desires have been dashed by the cruel realities of COVID-19.”

In a similar announcement the Western Hockey League (WHL) has announced that it will shut down following the completion of its 24 game regular season. So, while they'll complete their season unlike the OHL, there will be no WHL Playoffs and WHL champion in 2021.

“When we returned to play in February, we set out with the intention of completing a 24-game Regular Season schedule, knowing adjustments would be needed along the way,” commented WHL Commissioner Ron Robison. “We remained hopeful that public health conditions would improve, but unfortunately that is not the reality we see in front of us today. The ongoing challenges with non-essential interprovincial and international cross-border travel leave us no alternative but to cancel the 2021 WHL Playoffs.

The WHL regular season is expected to wrap up May 11th.

The QMJHL wrapped up its season, with no playoffs, this past weekend.