At the moment, sports across the world look completely different than they did one year ago. In the junior hockey realm, some leagues are set to kick off at the end of this month while others will start in October or November. Two teams have opted out of the NAHL as of now leaving the majority of other junior hockey teams ready to go. Schedules are set but that does not mean things are normal or will come without change.
The majority of teams will not allow fans while the remainders will allow a limited capacity. Each state is allowed to determine how many fans are allowed in arenas excluding New York and Massachusetts. Both states are not allowing any teams to play games at home, meaning all games will be road games. Most seasons will be shortened by few games to provide flexibility in the event of cancellations or other events.
Players will be arriving in limited numbers over the next few weeks to ensure they are able to socially distance themselves and follow proper state and team guidelines. Teams will also limit the number of player interactions in an attempt to prevent any COVID outbreaks.
For fans, parents, players, and staff, it’s important to remember that safety comes first. In the event of a team’s city showing zero positive COVID cases, that will not result in things getting back to “normal”. Safety measures will remain in place until state guidelines have been lifted. Last season was a wave of turbulence for everyone and nobody wants to repeat it again.
