Hockey and the Coronavirus: Updates

Below the jump, an attempt to put together a running list of hockey competitions that have been cancelled, suspended, or otherwise disrupted by the outbreak of COVID-19. The list will be updated, and heads-up notes etc. will be much appreciated! Read on, and do check back for further updates…

LATEST UPDATE: March 26th (international hockey update)

The three men’s professional leagues in Russia — the KHL, VHL, and PVHL, have now officially cancelled their 2019-20 seasons; decisions on the final standings, awards, etc. will be made later on. In the junior leagues (the MHL and second-tier NMHL), the option of holding the playoffs later this summer is still being held open, at least for now — all games have been suspended but not yet cancelled. And the League of Women’s Hockey, the top amateur women’s competition in Russia, has now suspended all games indefinitely, with a new schedule to be determined once the virus situation has calmed down.

There have been some other cancellations, as well. The Asia League, which includes Russian club HK Sakhalin as well as teams in Japan and South Korea, cancelled its playoff final late last month. And April’s Gazprom Neft Cup i Sochi, an international children’s hockey get-together that was to involve 35 teams from 12 countries, has also been shut down for this year.

2020 marks the first time since its creation in 1919 that the Memorial Cup will not be awarded. The Memorial Cup, established to honour fallen soldiers of World War I, persisted through the Spanish Flu that first year in 1919 – which resulted in cancellation of the Stanley Cup. https://t.co/C316kSIyjt

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) March 23, 2020

Leagues/Countries

• Austria — the 2019-20 season in the EBEL (including clubs in Austria, Czechia, Hungary, and Italy) has ended early, with no champion declared.
• Belarus — the country’s hockey federation has suspended all youth-level games until April 6th, although competitions at the senior level are continuing for now.
• Canada — The CHL, comprising the WHL, QMJHL, and OHL and including several clubs in the U.S., has cancelled all playoffs and will not award the Memorial Cup for 2019-20 (see tweet above). And Hockey Canada has suspended all activities (primarily youth hockey) under its aegis, including men’s and women’s University championship tournaments.
• China — the Chinese Hockey League has suspended games to be played this month.
• Croatia — crowds at all sporting events are restricted to a maximum of 1000 people.
• Czechia — The Tipsport Extraliga (the top men’s pro league) has suspended games until March 29th.
• Denmark — The Danish Metalligaen has announced the cancellation of its playoffs without a champion being declared.
• Estonia — The Estonian men’s, women’s, and youth leagues all ended their seasons early, on March 13th, with no champions declared.
• Finland — The remainder of the top-tier men’s Liiga regular season will be held without spectators, and an announcement on the playoffs will be made later. All other leagues, which are under the jurisdiction of the Finnish Hockey Federation, have cancelled their seasons as of March 12th. As mentioned above, Jokerit in the KHL will now play behind closed doors as well.
• France — Ligue Magnus has suspended games until March 17th.
• Germany — DEL and DEL-2 seasons ended early, no champion declared for 2019-20.
• Greece — hockey games in the Greek Championship (men’s) are cancelled for at least the next 15 days, as of March 14th.
• Hungary — The Erste Liga, which includes teams in Romania, has ended its season early; FTC-Telekom and Miercurea Ciuc are declared joint champions.
• Italy — all winter sports competitions cancelled until June 30th.
• Japan — the Professional Women’s Hockey Players Association cancelled a planned series of games in Japan. Domestic tournaments at all levels have been cancelled for March.
• Kazakhstan — The Kazakhstan Ice Hockey Federation has cancelled the men’s national championship, and no champion will be declared for this season.
• Latvia — The Latvian Hockey Federation has cancelled the playoffs for the Optibet Hockey League (the top-tier men’s league), and suspended play in the Latvian Children and Youth Hockey League as well as the Youth Development Hockey League.
• Lithuania — the playoffs in the top national men’s championship and games in youth leagues have been postponed from March 14th to 27th.
• Netherlands — games continuing for now, although in the province of Noord-Brabant events with an expected attendance greater than 1000 are prohibited.
• NHL (Canada and U.S.) — The season has been suspended indefinitely, as of March 12th.
• Norway — playoffs in the GET-Ligaen (the top men’s league) have been postponed. Some games continue “with local restrictions” in a number of other leagues.
• Poland — Both the men’s and women’s championships have ended their seasons early; GKS Tychy are declared men’s champions, and Polonia Bytom are champions of the women’s league.
• Slovakia — all leagues and levels suspended until March 23rd, and the Tipsport Liga (the top-level men’s league) has ended its season without declaring a champion.
• Slovenia — crowds at all sporting events are restricted to a maximum of 500 people.
• Sweden — All men’s, women’s, and youth hockey competitions for the 2019-20 season have been canceled.
• Switzerland — The National League and the Swiss League, the top two levels of men’s pro hockey, have suspended their seasons until March 15th.
• Turkey — Turkey’s top men’s league will hold its final behind closed doors, and all levels below that, including youth hockey have suspended play.
• Ukraine — The women’s, junior men’s, and youth competitions in the country are suspended from March 13th to April 3rd. The Ukrainian men’s championship continues for now.
• United Kingdom — the top men’s league in the UK, the EIHL, has cancelled the remainder of its season as of March 13th.
• Uzbekistan — all international sports events in the country are cancelled, including those which involve multinational leagues (hence Humo Tashkent’s move to Russia for the remainder of the VHL playoffs).
• USA — USA Hockey has cancelled national championships for youth and amateur levels, and all NCAA college sports, including men’s and women’s hockey, have similarly cancelled their national tournaments. On Thursday (Mar. 12), the junior men’s USHL announced suspension of its season, and the National Women’s Hockey League has postponed its Final. The American Hockey League and ECHL, also including teams in Canada, followed the NHL’s decisionand suspended their seasons; the ECHL has since cancelled its 2019-20 campaign entirely.

International:

Cancelled:

• Women’s senior World Championships in the Top Division, Divisions 1A, 1B, and 2A.
• Men’s senior World Championship in all divisions. The last international tournament to be officially waved off was the senior men’s Top Division Worlds, cancelled on March 21st.
• Men’s U18 World Championships in all divisions.
• Challenge Cup of Asia, all divisions (Men’s senior Top Division, Men’s U18 Top Division and Division 1, Women’s senior Top Division and Division 1)

One other effect of the coronavirus pandemic on international hockey involves IIHF President Rene Fasel, who was scheduled to step down in 2020 after 26 years on the job. For the sake of continuity and stability, Fasel indicated today (March 26th) that he may stay on for another six months or a year, until the crisis is under control, although he rejected the notion of serving another full four-year term. A reasonable enough move, under the circumstances.

Thank you for reading, and many best wishes to all in areas affected by the coronavirus!