NHL hopes to start in January

The NHL Draft has rekindled the appetite for ice hockey. However, it remains unclear when the National Hockey League season will actually get under way again. At least there is already a plan; everything else is based on hope.

The NHL intends to start the coming season on 1 January 2021. League commissioner Gary Bettman announced this on the sidelines of the Draft on Tuesday evening. Details of the schedule will be announced at a later date, according to a statement from the North American ice hockey league.

Last season had been interrupted for several months due to the coronavirus pandemic and only ended last week with the Tampa Bay Lightning winning the Stanley Cup.

Canadian ice hockey star Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers has tested positive for coronavirus. According to the Oilers, McDavid has mild symptoms but feels well and is in quarantine.

Last season, the 23-year-old centre ranked second in the NHL behind his German team-mate Leon Draisaitl (110 points), recording 97 points (34 goals/63 assists) in 64 games during the regular season. In 2016/17 and 2017/18, McDavid had surpassed 100 points in each season as the NHL's leading scorer.