Another post about another announcement about a future announcementAnother announcement about a future announcement.
At this point I'm looking towards fall and what 2021-22 will look like. At the rate we are being vaccinated, I can't see any Canadian 16-20 year old high performance athlete being vaccinated come August/September. The govt. will be in a bit of a pickle if that's the case. If they are going to allow a bunch of non-vaccinated youth go play, then what were they waiting for this whole time? I get that more of the public will be vaccinated so things should be a bit more under control, but they can't say it's about player safety if they aren't vaccinated and not playing in a bubble. But if they don't start up on time, the other 2 leagues will be in their 2nd season since the pandemic began while they haven't even started their 1st.
Another post about another announcement about a future announcement
Another post about rince n repeatJust how it been going.
Rince n repeat
Another post about rince n repeat
Ontario just extended their Stay at Home Order (effective now), have implemented more measures effective 12:01am Sat, and even more that are effective 12:01am Monday. I'd be surprised if players can even get to the rinks to do anything.
The OHL needs to come out with a formal "we're focusing on 2021-22" announcement asap. Ontario is a total sh!tshow right now and junior hockey isn't a priority. The league cannot continue to "hmmm"; it needs clear, concise communication and a focus on the next chapter.
I do find it interesting that about 6-8 months ago the “biggest” hurdle for the OHL was the United States border and US teams/players. Fans in the stands was a big issue as well but most on here seemed to think the OHL could just continue on with a limited structured season without the 3 US teams like it was nothing.
Now it seems that what is actually going to flat out end any real chance of OHL hockey before the fall is Ontario and their rising numbers and shutdown. Meanwhile the US has fully resumed local sports with limited capacity as they approach 25% fully vaccinated in the population and 40% with at least one dose.
It goes to show yet another hurdle the league has faced more than most sports league - teams in 2 countries combined with teenagers (not adults) that are from multiple countries - combined with poor planning and limited funds to support no fans and this is what you get... no hockey for 18-20 months
The OHL does not have franchises throughout the US. 2 of the 3 are in Michigan.
What's behind Michigan's COVID-19 surge?
“Michigan is reporting 580.4 new daily cases per million people, among the highest in the nation, and an 18.2% positivity rate. The state reported 3,842 patients hospitalized, a level unseen since the second surge in cases last fall.
The new wave of infections is primarily hitting younger people. Youth sports, in-person classes and social gatherings are driving the case increase among younger people, health officials have said.
People 10-29 are 30% of the state's total confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to MDHHS.”
The OHL needs to come out with a formal "we're focusing on 2021-22" announcement asap. Ontario is a total sh!tshow right now and junior hockey isn't a priority. The league cannot continue to "hmmm"; it needs clear, concise communication and a focus on the next chapter.
And your point? United States has 1/4 of the population fully vaccinated. They are in much better shape to start withstanding these “new waves” especially having gone through it before. Until the country gets closer to 50-60% vaccinated then the waves will 100% still happen. We already know these vaccines don’t prevent you from actually carrying the virus. So again, what is your point??? They are in position to have 75% population vaccinated by summer. If the vaccines aren’t working then that’s a whole new problem that the entire world will have to take on and the world may never recover - so the CHL will easily fold.
My point overall is that the United States numbers OVERALL are way down than what they were. The vaccines are being rolled out to anyone that wants one and it’s pretty easy to get all things considered. So again the United States in theory could be close to fully vaccinated by summer let alone by fall for the new potential season hockey. Can’t say the same about Canada. Again, if the US is still at these numbers, including Michigan, come October then you all have bigger worries than OHL hockey because that means the vaccine is not effective and/or the variants are overwhelming.
My point is simply that neither Ontario nor Michigan can claim to be ready to host OHL hockey right now.
As for the future, I’m not going there — we all hope for the best, but the last 14 months have taught me to believe a lot of things when I see them.