The extension of provincial public health orders prohibiting adult team sports has hit the pause button on the Prince George Spruce Kings' season.
Team general manager Mike Hawes said the B.C. Hockey League is in "pause mode" until at least Jan. 8, when the current orders are set to expire.
"We had a plan to play our regular season starting Dec. 4, but we weren't able to do that because of the orders," Hawes said. "We're kind of just in a holding pattern."
According to information released by the BCHL, 48 per cent of the league's players are 19 or 20 years old and are prohibited from practicing or playing with their respective teams under the orders.
If the teams are able to get back on the ice in mid-January, the plan is to have a shortened regular season, followed by a condensed playoff schedule, Hawes said.
"The important thing is our league and our teams are working hard to make sure we can have a seasons for our players and fans," Hawes said.
In a statement released on Monday, BCHL chairman Graham Fraser said teams in the league played 90 exhibition games between September and November without any cases of COVID-19 transmission.
“For the past nine months, the board of governors, the league office and the return-to-play task force have done everything possible to do right by our players and the public,” Fraser said. “We remain committed to exploring every option available to us to start our season safely and as soon as possible, including presenting the concept of a BCHL hub. We look forward to getting things going again in January with all of our players back on the ice.”
