By Derek Harper
Major junior hockey fans received good news this week from the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). For the upcoming preseason, fans will be able to view 30+ CHL games for free.
The 30+ games include 12 Ontario Hockey League (OHL) games and a handful of games from the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) and Western Hockey League (WHL).
The QMJHL will be the first of the three leagues to drop the puck on preseason action with a doubleheader Friday, Aug. 23. The two games will feature the Baie-Comeau Drakkar hitting the road to take on the Chicoutimi Saguenéens.That game will be followed up with the Gatineau Olympiques heading to the Abitibi-Témiscamingue region of Québec for a contest against the Val-d’Or Foreurs. Other QMJHL preseason games that fans can watch for free in the next few weeks include a rematch from this past season’s playoffs between the Sherbrooke Phoenix and the 2024 QMJHL champion Drummondville Voltigeurs on Friday, Sept. 13.
Meanwhile the OHL slate starts with a tripleheader Friday, Sept. 6.
The new-look Brampton Steelheads will face the Kitchener Rangers, the Niagara IceDogs taking on the Bulldogs at the Brantford Civic Centre, and the Peterborough Petes will make their way south to take on the Guelph Storm. Then, one day later Sept. 7, the 2023-24 OHL Eastern Conference Champion Oshawa Generals will take on the Storm in Guelph. A few weeks later, fans can watch last season’s J. Ross Robertson Cup winners, the London Knights, host the Sarnia Sting on Friday, Sept. 20 when the regular season starts up.
In the WHL, fans will be able to watch over 10 free games. WHL action starts up Saturday, Sept. 7 with four games, including a pair of US Division battles between the Seattle Thunderbirds and the Everett Silvertips and the Tri-City Americans going up against the Wenatchee Wild. Fans can also watch the 2023-24 WHL and CHL Rookie of the Year Gavin McKenna and the Medicine Hat Tigers head to Red Deer to face the Rebels on Friday, Sept. 13. Another matchup fans will be able to watch is the Swift Current Broncos clashing with the defending WHL champion Moose Jaw Warriors on Saturday, Sept. 14.
For Wenatchee, this is another special season for them. While they obviously had to make a few moves last season to replenish future draft picks, they still have a competitive team. There could certainly be moves to come, but Wenatchee is now sitting in a better position than they were going into their inaugural season in 2023-24.
The Portland Winterhawks will be another WHL team to watch after the moves they had to make with their overage situation and Kyle Gustafson the new head bench boss.
All fans need to do to view these free preseason games is login or create an account for free at watch.chl.ca. In addition to this being a way for fans to gauge whether they want to buy a package for the regular season, it also gives them the ability to see games from one or two leagues they might not regularly watch.
Stephen Heisler 