Ice hockey's long road back: Mind the potholes

Start date? Check. Structure? Check.  Direction of travel? Check

Three out of three from one clear statement - exactly what  ice hockey fans needed after waiting patiently for news on the 2020-21 EIHL season.

But there’s still a mighty long way to go before we’re all rinkside to see the puck drop on opening night - and there remain more questions than definitive answers.

The EIHL has effectively put the entire schedule on wheels and rolled it down the track.
August pre-season is now November. The new Magic5 weekend gathering goes from October to December. The regular season start date moves from September to December. Play-offs go from March to May.

But, a giant asterix remains next to everything, and that uncertainty is unlikely to recede anytime soon. So much of what happens next is entirely outwith the control of the league or its clubs.

The positives from yesterday’s announcement? Well, there are many:

It means things can now move forward. It has given clarity where there was uncertainty.

All ten teams are committed to taking part. 

Fans can start to look ahead with a degree of confidence and, if all goes to schedule, they may even have a fixture list to mull over come mid-to-late September.

Coaches and GMs can start to build rosters with a degree of confidence. They too now have a framework to operate within.

Downsides?

The devil is in the detail - and that was in very limited supply.

Everything is dependent on the say-so of the UK Government and devolved governments whether any mass indoor gatherings can return, and be free from restrictions.

The league operates UK-wide, and that could mean having to face specific restrictions from any single country at any specific time;  guidance that may sit at odds with advice on the other side of the border. That could create insurmountable logistical problems.

The EIHL’s statement didn’t address the issue of testing.

It will be a significant cost to each member club, and could be a condition of any return to playing.

And what happens if even one player tests positive? Or, a volunteer with direct access to the dressing-room?


Dressing-rooms are breeding grounds for flu-type bugs as it is. Shielding them from a potential coronavirus is an absolute minefield.

It didn’t go into detail on rinks and venues which face deeply uncertain futures.

There’s talk of Sheffield’s arena being mothballed until 2021 - if so, where does that leave Steelers? Could Nottingham go the same way?

They are built to host major concerts and events in front of crowds of up to 8000. Under current restrictions, these events simply can’t happen. No events, no revenue.

Concerns too over the fate of Glasgow Clan’s home following the collapse of Intu into administration. The doors will remain open, but it’s another club not in control of its own destiny right now, and that creates the very sort of uncertainty which makes business shudder.

And then there are the smaller rinks, including Fife.

They have all been without revenue since lockdown began in March. If the hockey season is delayed until December, how do they bridge that extended gap?

And how will the sport react if social distancing remains in place come December?
That is a red line for the league.

It is clear that playing behind closed doors or with limited capacity doesn’t work.

Todd Kelman, GM at Cardiff, suggested last week while the sport could start off with 50% per capacity, it couldn’t run like that for an entire season. The numbers just don’t stack up.

With no TV money and minimal commercial sponsorship, the sport needs paying customers  rinkside to be viable, but how it balances that with a whole new world as we emerge from lockdown remains unclear -  but going back to how things were done is a non-starter for any business right now. 

We may have a road map to study, but it is one littered with potholes. Some big ones too.

The journey may be more in hope than expectation.

For the future of the sport, I hope it is the latter.