So many things about the 2021 hockey season have been a complete departure from tradition and here’s another item joining the list — look for the Ontario Reign to participate in the AHL’s 2021 postseason.
Earlier today, the American Hockey League announced this:
Each of the league’s five divisions has been provided the opportunity to independently determine its own postseason format. The members of the Pacific Division will complete the 2020-21 season with a playoff tournament to determine a division champion; members of the other four divisions will not have postseason play.
“While we are disappointed that we will not be able to award the Calder Cup this spring, we are grateful to have been able to provide a safe and competitive environment for more than 1,000 players to play AHL hockey and continue their development,” said Howson. “We’re especially thankful for the work done by our athletic trainers, COVID-19 officers and other front-line workers to ensure the health and safety of all of our players and staff throughout the league.”
In the Pacific Division, a postseason tournament will be held to determine the division championship. The format for the tournament will be announced at a later date. The tournament winner will be awarded the John D. Chick Trophy as champions of the Pacific Division; the Chick Trophy has been presented to an AHL division champion annually since 1961-62.
Over the past few hours, here are some additional details MayorsManor has been able to uncover:
— All seven Pacific Division teams will participate in the postseason tournament, similar to how most college hockey conferences handle their postseason tourneys.
— The top three teams will essentially have a bye into the second round. Currently, it’s a trio of the Henderson Silver Knights, San Diego Gulls, and Bakersfield Condors sitting atop the Pacific Division.
— Teams seeded 4-7 in the Division will kick-off the postseason by playing a mini-tournament to earn the fourth seed.
— That opening ‘play-in’ round with the bottom four teams (currently comprised of San Jose, Colorado, Tucson and Ontario, based on Division standings) will begin on Tuesday, May 18 in Irvine. Games are scheduled to be played at 1pm and 7pm. It’s a win-or-go-home format. Next, the two winners from Tuesday will then faceoff the following day and whoever comes out on top will advance as the fourth seed.
— The next round will be a best-of-three series featuring No. 1 vs. No. 4, along with No. 2 vs. No. 3. Those games will be held in the home arenas of the first and second seeds.
— Winners from those two semi-final series will meet in the Pacific Division Final, also scheduled as a best-of-three series to be played in the home arena of the highest remaining seed.
More details will be announced in the days and weeks ahead.
In related news, from what we understand, Kings prospect Quinton Byfield is expected to rejoin the Reign following a brief stint in the NHL. As we have reported previously, the Kings do not plan on burning the first year of his Entry Level Contract. Thus, with his NHL debut coming on Wednesday night, he now can play a maximum of five more games with the Kings. LA has nine games remaining on their schedule, although it remains unclear exactly when he’ll play, beyond getting his second game Friday night in Anaheim.
McLellan confirms Byfield will play Friday vs the Ducks
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 29, 2021
Plans have been very fluid (everybody's new favorite word). I'm currently expecting Andersson & Byfield to be up (doesn't mean playing every game) until Kings leave for COL on 5/11.
At that point, Byfield could go back to AHL and play 2 more games. We'll discuss on today's KOTP. https://t.co/sIQWSsiILD
— John Hoven | The Mayor (@mayorNHL) April 29, 2021
The entire tournament and other breaking news will be discussed on a new Kings Of The Podcast episode released later today.
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Click here to check out Byfield on Kings Of The Podcast
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