ABERDEEN, S.D.: The North American Hockey League (NAHL) has announced that the opening date of the 2020-21 regular hockey season will be Friday, October 9.
The delayed start means that NAHL events will be affected. The 18th annual NAHL Showcase will take place from December 16-19, 2020, at the Super Rink in Blaine, Minnesota. The 2021 NAHL Top Prospects Tournament will take place on February 8-9, 2021, at the New England Sports Village in Attleboro, Massachusetts, and the 2021 NAHL Robertson Cup National Championship will take place from May 21-25, 2021, at Fogerty Arena in Blaine, Minnesota.
“We have spent a lot of time discussing return dates and are excited to be moving forward at this time,” said NAHL Commissioner and President Mark Franknfeld. “Our number one priority remains returning to the ice this fall in the safest manner possible for everyone in our hockey community and we believe that October 9th is a good date to achieve that goal. Between now and the schedule release we will be communicating with the NHL, USA Hockey, and the USHL, to develop the most current return to play guidelines as possible.”
The NAHL is committed to a full schedule of regular season games, and the schedule will be released by September 1.
“Our events play a big role in the development, exposure, and advancement of our players. Our goal for the upcoming 2020-21 season was to make sure that all three events could take place in the safest manner possible,” Frankenfeld said. “While we are disappointed we cannot have our NAHL Showcase during its normal time in September, we feel moving back to December gives everyone the best opportunity to attend and enjoy the event.”
This will be the league’s 46th season. For more updates, visit www.nahl.com.