The National Hockey League may start their 2020-21 regular season as soon as January 1 depending on the league and NHL Player’s Association reaching an accommodation on the length of the season and whether prorated salaries will be necessary if fans cannot attend games due to COVID-19 restrictions, but the impact of the pandemic is not limited to the immediate concerns of league revenue or border restrictions.
Clubs concerned with the development of their players have been going to great lengths to get some of their prospects placed with teams in Europe at varying levels, and teams like the Toronto Maple Leafs appeared to adopt the philosophy in their recent draft of selecting mostly players with longer development windows outside of North America or in US colleges, but for prospects in the ECHL, AHL, CHL, some NCAA schools, shortened or cancelled seasons could stunt the growth of players who NHL teams are depending on over the next few years.
The ECHL indicated last month that they intend to start their season in mid-January, while the American Hockey League hopes to start in early February (both these dates are subject to change, based on whether fans can attend). The QMJHL started in October, but the WHL and OHL are waiting until after New Year’s.
In the US, conferences like the Big-10 are starting their season on Friday, but others like the Ivy League announced on Thursday that they are canceling the whole season.
Leafs prospect Nick Abruzzese is one such prospect. The Slate Hill, NY native was drafted by Toronto as an overager in 2019 after an 80-point season with the Chicago Steel of the USHL. The 21-year-old led the Crimson and all freshman in the NCAA with 44 points (14 goals, 30 assists) in 31 games, but the Ivy League season cancellation could have an effect on whether he chooses to stay in college or turn pro.
Hockey Prospect.com’s Mark Edwards said last year that Abruzzese “has the skill and skating to have a chance to play at the professional level, but much of it will depend on how he develops physically and if he is able to handle the rigors of pro hockey and potentially the NHL night in a night out.”
That has likely not changed much in one year, but the club and the player both have to decide whether his best course of action will be to stay in school and be off the ice for more than a year or leave Harvard to sign an entry-level contract and potentially play in Newfoundland or with the AHL Marlies in early 2021.
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