It felt like it took forever for the BCHL to fight through COVID restrictions to get a season in, and the league has now confirmed 2020-21 will end quietly without any playoffs.
Once the 16 participating teams (minus Wenatchee and Langley) play their final games, that’ll be it.
“Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions in the province and the challenges that changing cohorts would have presented, the league determined it was not feasible to conduct a postseason,” the league announced in an April 27 news release.
The league’s championship trophy, the Fred Page Cup, will not be awarded in 2021 and traditional league awards will not be handed out either.
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“Since we were shut down in November, our priority was to provide our athletes with an opportunity to showcase themselves to NCAA coaches and NHL scouts.” said BCHL Executive Director Steven Cocker. “We are thrilled that we were able to reward our players for all of the hard work they put in during what was a difficult and challenging season. We look forward to returning to a more normal schedule next year and once again crowning a BCHL champion.”
All BCHL teams have between six and eight games left to play, with the Nanaimo Clippers and Alberni Valley Bulldogs facing off in the league’s final game on May 11.
There will be some recognition for the top teams and players from the POD season. The top team from each of the five pods (based on points or point percentage, if there’s a difference in the number of games played) will earn championship status. Individual awards will be given to the MVP, top defenceman, top goalie, top rookie and top scorer in each pod.
