WHL to open new season on Oct. 1

The Western Hockey League is preparing to drop the puck on a full season in October.

The league finished its annual general meeting Tuesday, when an opening date of Oct. 1 and the reintroduction of playoff conference play was finalized.

“The 2021-22 WHL regular season is scheduled to open on Friday, Oct. 1. With the anticipated lifting of health restrictions in all jurisdictions, the 2021-22 season will call for a 68-game schedule with full capacity in a fan-friendly and safe environment throughout all WHL markets,” a news release read.

Last season, COVID-19 prompted the league to postpone the start of the regular season and then, after deciding to play games, to shorten the campaign considerably.

The East Division competed in a hub city format in Regina, while other divisions played modified seasons. There wasn’t a post-season.

The 2021-22 regular season is scheduled to end on April 3. There won’t be any games between Eastern Conference and Western Conference teams.

The playoffs are returning to a format last used in 2014 prior to the division format.

Beginning on April 8, the playoffs will begin with the first-place teams in the two divisions in each conference receiving the top two playoff seeds based on regular-season points. The next six teams in each conference will receive the third to eighth playoff positions.

Clubs advancing to the second round and beyond will be reseeded each round based on regular-season points.

The 2022 WHL championship series is scheduled to be played from May 20 to May 30.

Teams will begin announcing home opening dates to the season on Wednesday.

The WHL Western Conference season schedule will be released on June 23. The Eastern Conference schedule will be announced at a later date.