TORONTO — The Ontario Hockey League will not have bodychecking this coming season.
Lisa MacLeod, Ontario’s minister of sport, confirmed the decision on Friday afternoon.
She said that removing purposeful physical contact from the game was a necessary step to preventing the spread of COVID-19.
[radioclip id=5000799]
The OHL announced on Thursday that it plans to start a shortened season on Feb. 4.
MacLeod said the decision was influenced by the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, which had several COVID-19 outbreaks on its teams earlier this fall.
[relatedlinks]
1:44
1:33
2:03
1:22
COMMENTS
When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.