Lehigh Valley Phantoms Opt In To AHL's 2020-21 Season

ALLENTOWN, Pa. - The wait is finally over.

The Lehigh Valley Phantoms can begin their countdown to the AHL's 2020-21 season after opting in at the American Hockey League's (AHL) Board of Governors (BoG) meeting Monday afternoon. The AHL's season is scheduled to begin on February 5th.

"For all of us that love hockey, we're going to have hockey here in the Lehigh Valley," Phantoms' co-owner Jim Brooks told InsideAHLHockey.com. "Fans of hockey and entertainment in the Lehigh Valley can be excited because this is one step closer to normal."

Monday's BoG meeting was the deadline set for AHL teams to either opt in or opt out of the 2020-21 season. The Phantoms, along with 27 of the other 30 AHL teams, made the decision to play this season. The three teams who opted out are the Charlotte Checkers (Florida), Milwaukee Admirals (Nashville) and Springfield (St. Louis).

Though some details - like a schedule - still need to be worked out, knowing now which teams are in and out will allow the AHL to turn their current schedule template into a finalized playing schedule.

"We don't envision having fans right away, but we are hopeful based on the information we have that we can conduct a safe environment that would allow for fans. We know that it is possible to do, and we feel confident in that," Brooks said Saturday via phone. "We've been working with the health department to educate them on our plans, and hopefully we can get to that point."

So while fans won't be able to attend games at the start of the season, Phantoms fans can begin to get excited that attending games isn't too far away in the distant future.

"For all of us that love hockey, we're going to have hockey here in the Lehigh Valley. I don't know when fans will be able to come in but we hope that's soon. We want everyone to know that we're going to be even better than before, and we're excited to welcome them back."