OHL cancels 2020-2021 season because of COVID-19

The Ontario Hockey League has cancelled its 2020-21 season because of COVID-19.

The OHL will be the only one of Canada’s three major junior hockey leagues not to hold a 2020-21 season.

“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 in a statement.

“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.”

The league says it reached an agreement on a return-to-play plan with the Ontario government earlier this month.

However, the OHL says the province’s recently extended stay-at-home order along with increasing cases of COVID-19 made it impossible to play.