The league wrapped up its annual general meeting on Tuesday afternoon and has set a date of Friday, Oct. 1 for the start of the campaign. The plan is to see a full 68-game season played with arenas at full capacity as health restrictions are lifted in jurisdictions all over Western Canada and United States in the coming months.
Moose Jaw fans won’t have a chance to see Portland Winterhawks forward and local minor hockey grad Reece Newkirk in action, though -- there will be no interlocking games between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference next season, meaning no trip to B.C. or the U.S. and vice versa for their teams travelling to the Central and East Divisions.
Schedules are still being finalized, and WHL teams will begin announcing home opening dates on June 16. The pre-season schedule will be announced on Monday, June 21, followed by the Western Conference schedule on June 23 and Eastern Conference schedule soon after.
Another major change comes in the playoff format.
The 2022 WHL Playoffs will begin on Apr. 8 and will feature the return of Conference playoffs: the top eight teams in each Conference will make the post-season, with the Division champions taking the top two seeds. Teams will be re-ranked each round based on regular-season points; home-ice advantage in the WHL final will also go to the highest-ranking team.
All series will be best-of-seven.
Conference playoffs were last used in 2014, with the Division and Wild Card format in place since 2015.
It’s all a welcome sight after the strangeness that was last season
The 2020-21 campaign was delayed until late February after multiple projected start dates. Each Division handled their 24-game pandemic schedule a different way, and in the end, only the East Division was able to put together a full campaign thanks to playing in a Hub format out of the Brandt Centre in Regina.
Teams are putting together season ticket packages and plans, and for more information visit www.mjwarriors.ca or give them a shout at 306-694-5711.
Overtime… the Warriors will be holding a garage sale outside their Mosiac Place office on Saturday, June 19. Plenty of team gear will be up for sale at a wide range of bargain prices, including helmets, sticks, gloves and pants. The sale will run from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and all are welcome -- socially distanced and COVID-safe, of course.
