OHL's return-to-play details revealed; season will look very different from past years

According to Scott Wheeler of The Athletic, the Ontario Hockey League sent a memo to it's 20 teams regarding the upcoming 2020-21 season. In the memo, it was stated that the season will begin on Easter weekend (April 2nd-4th), and will consist of 24-games.

The 2020-21 season will also reportedly feature four hub cities, likely one per division, to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Players will have to quarantine at home in March, before they arrive in their host city. The federal and provincial government will also require mandatory quarantine periods for import players coming from Europe, etc.

The OHL's return-to-play plan is subject to government approval, which would be needed within the next couple of weeks for the league to start on time.

Sources: The OHL sent a memo to teams today with plans for restart:
- 24-game season
- Four hub cities
- March quarantines at home before arriving in host city
- April 2-4 weekend target for start to season
- Government mandated quarantines for imports

*Subject to gov. approval— Scott Wheeler (@scottcwheeler) February 10, 2021

Darren Dreger of TSN added that nothing is official as of yet, but the OHL is nearing the conclusion on it's return-to-play format. The league is expected to address the speculation in a statement at some point on Thursday.

Two issues remain up in the air. As Dreger pointed out, there are roughly 30 OHL players that have signed in Europe to get ice time, and those players won't return to North America until a RTP format is finalized.

The other issue is that three of the twenty OHL teams are based in the United States, the Erie Otters, Flint Firebirds, and Saginaw Spirit. It's likely that all four bubbles will be in Ontario cities, and that there will be no travel across the border to play the American teams, who will probably be placed in a bubble somewhere in the Southwestern part of the province.

Clearly the OHL wants to return to play ASAP, but there's also concern false hope at this point may impact the close to 30 OHL players playing in Europe. Those players won't report back until a completed RTP is government approved. https://t.co/wfpokjozen— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) February 11, 2021

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