What Hockey Events Are on in 2020?

The COVID-19 pandemic has made 2020 a dull year, especially for sports fans, as major events are getting canceled or postponed. The Olympic games 2020, are delayed until 2021, is among the major events. The global sports schedule has experienced the most severe disruption, the likes that we observed during World War II. Sporting competitions have been halted or canceled globally and to various degrees.

Some sports events will proceed, but the audience would be sitting at home while the majority of sports events got canceled. In reaction, players decided to "play for life" instead of slots. For instance, former football player Craig Foster uses his connections in the world of sports to set up a volunteer workforce to help charities.

Just a handful of nations have started as scheduled professional sports tournaments, such as Belarus, Tajikistan, and Nicaragua.

Ice hockey has also suffered a significant blow because of this pandemic.

International Ice Hockey Tournaments Cancelled:

The IIHF has canceled the IIHF Women's World Championship, IIHF IV World Championship and Women's Ice Hockey World Championships owing to the pandemic. The organization has already postponed the 2020 edition of the IIHF World U18 Championship, one of the two sanctioned junior world championships. On 21 March, the IIHF announced that it had already discontinued the senior world men's tournament.

The IIHF announced on its website the complete details. They mentioned:

The current coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), led to the decision to postpone the events, was made. The IIHF Council decided, in the light of the current circumstances and light of consultations between stakeholders, that the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship can not be played in Zurich and Lausanne.

"It is a tough circumstance for the international ice hockey community, but one which we must recognize," says IIHF President René Fasel. "Coronavirus is a global issue that needs robust policy measures to tackle its spread; the IIHF will do its best to support the battle against this pandemic. "We are in favor of the IIHF Council's decision," says Gian Gilli, Secretary-General for the Ice Hockey World Championship Committee of 2020. "This is a big deception of the Organizing Committee. It's exceptional, and it's a question of re-establishment. We have to put our sports on hold for now and support both government bodies and the ice hockey family."

This decision has far-reaching consequences for both the IIHF and its partners, the participating teams, and the national members of the IIHF will attend the IIHF's Annual Congress in May.

The Organizing Committee has both implemented a robust program of risk and insurance for the 2020 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship, as required by the IIHF Statutes and the insurance guidelines, and have implemented the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championship. The security of the substantial sales linked to the incident was one of these risk-reduction steps. Such measures to protect profits have reacted accordingly.

The annual Congress of the IIHF for 2020, set for 21–23 May 2020 in Zurich, is also postponed until a later date. Throughout the upcoming weeks, the IIHF Council shall consult and address the operational and athletic ramifications of the cancellation of the Ice Hockey World Championship 2020 to determine how feasible the annual meeting will likely be held in Zurich at a later date.

Host countries of the 2020 IIHF, Ice Hockey World Championship, cannot be changed.The potential scenario to postpone the World Championship in Switzerland for another year is a matter of discussion within Congress. Only the next session of Congress can pass judgment on this.

The refund procedure for the buyers of tickets shall be explained by the 2020 Ice Hockey World Championship Organizing Committee of the IIHF for ice hockey enthusiasts preparing to watch a World Championship in Zurich and Lausanne as early as possible. The Committee needs cooperation from all parties concerned and will include updates on the next measures

Ice Hockey Tournaments Apart from International Tournaments:

Following the German Government's banning of large-scale games, on 10 March, the German Ice Hockey League declared that it would finish the remainder of the season with a champion not named for the first time in history. When the squad disbanded, the four top teams – EHC Red Bull Munich, Adler Mannheim, Straubing Tigers, and Eisbaren Berlin – will step on into the Champions Hockey League.

On 15 March, the Swedish Ice Hockey Association postponed the remainder of the games, tournaments, and expertise in the Swedish elite legs. Thus, the 2019/20 season Le Mat trophy is without a winner, and the promotion of Leagues teams will occur in the 2020/21 season.

The NHL revoked the access of media to the locker rooms at the beginning of March 2020, suggesting that only officials were permitted to limit the person-to-person interaction during the games. Since 12 March, the NHL, the National Hockey League, the Canadian Hockey League (Ontario Hockey League, Quebec Minor Junior Hockey League), the USHL, and ECHL announced that their 2019–20 seasons wouldn't proceed.

The National Women's Hockey League postponed the final game of the Isobel Cup indefinitely on 12 March. The ECHL announced the rest of the season on 14 March, and on 18 March, the CHL leagues announced they would remove the rest of their regular seasons. The CHL announced on 23 March the cancelation of both Playoffs and the 2020 Memorial Cup.

The remaining portion of its season was postponed on 13 March by Hockey Canada, the governing body for recreational hockey around the world. The national tournaments, including Telus Cup and Esso Cup, and both regional and provincial playoffs were part of that case. The National Junior Hockey League playoffs, as well as the 2020 Centennial Cup, are postponed.

Conclusion:

2020 is a depressing year for ice hockey fans because the majority of the big championships are postponed indefinitely or are still pending decisions. A match cannot occur without an audience to spectate it, as booked seats govern the entire funding of games. Maybe if the cases drop-down or a vaccine is released, we might have hope that big tournaments might proceed during the later part of the year.