According to ESPN, the 2021 NHL season officially has a start date. Hockey will be beginning on January 13, 2021 and the season will be 56 games. This decision was supposedly confirmed last night by an NHL team executive.

While nothing is concrete just yet, the idea of a 56 game schedule is realistic and certainly something fans can expect out of the 2021 season.

The first reported start date for the season was January 1, 2021. That date has looked questionable as a realistic date for quite a while now, with Michael Raffl’s loan proving that suspension.

This new date comes much sooner than many expected as a delayed start date, with the majority of predictions ranging from early February to early March. Hopefully, this wont be changing anytime soon and Flyers fans and NHL fans in general can circle January 13th on their calendars and prepare themselves for the official start of the 2021 season.