ABERDEEN, S.D.: The North American Hockey League (NAHL) announced Tuesday that the current 2019-20 season, including the 2020 NAHL Robertson Cup playoffs and championship, have been canceled due to the international emergency caused by COVID-19.
On Monday, it was announced that the remainder of the regular season games had been canceled. Today’s announcement includes the playoffs and Robertson Cup national championship.
“The NAHL and its Board of Governors did everything in our power to preserve a modified playoff and Robertson Cup finals to ensure our players had every opportunity to compete for and win a Robertson Cup championship” said NAHL commissioner Mark Frankenfeld in a statement. “The latest Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommendation of cancelling all events of 50 or more people during the next eight weeks made that reality impossible without dramatically disrupting the rest of our hockey calendar. All NAHL teams will move forward with their tryout camp schedule, which is currently outside the CDC window.”
“We have had an incredible and memorable 2019-20 season up until this point, so this is a very sad day for everyone associated with the NAHL,” the statement continues. “We share that disappointment with all of our teams, parents, billet families, staff, sponsors and fans. However, the biggest disappointment we have today is for our players. They are the backbone of the NAHL and we are so blessed to have some incredible players and talent in our league. However, the safety of our hockey community, including all of our players, is our top priority and the decision to cancel the remainder of the season was necessary and in the best interest of everyone involved.”
Additionally, the NAHL also announced the suspension of the 2020 NAHL combines, the Prep Invitational in Chicago in late March, and the 18U Top Prospects Tournament in Blaine, M.N. in May. The NAHL is committed to rescheduling these events as soon as possible.
The NAHL will announce its 2019-20 season awards in the coming weeks. The 2020 NAHL draft is scheduled as planned to take place online at nahl.com on Tuesday, June 2 at 1 p.m. CST, and can also be seen live on HockeyTV.
The Aberdeen Wings organization has canceled their end-of-season banquet planned for March 29. The current Wings players have been released back to their homes. We will continue to update the community of any new developments as we hear more from the NAHL and the state of South Dakota.
Although the season has come to an abrupt end, the Aberdeen Wings found success both on and off the ice. That success would not have been possible without the support of our sponsors, fans, billet families and staff. The Wings look forward to a successful 2020-21 season and look forward to being back together again.
The Aberdeen Wings will issue any updates we receive from the NAHL.