Team Canada WJHC training camp invitee Ridly Greig tested positive for COVID-19 on Nov. 8, his agent told TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

Greig is at home, asymptomatic, and is expected to join Canada's camp Nov. 22 when his 14-day quarantine ends.

The Ottawa Senators selected the 5-foot-11 center 28th overall during the 2020 NHL Draft. He collected 60 points in 56 games with the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings last season and has drawn comparisons to Colorado Avalanche pivot Nazem Kadri.

The world juniors begin Christmas Day, and Canada's gold-medal defense starts Boxing Day against Germany.

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The ECHL's six North Division clubs will suspend play for the 2020-21 campaign, the league announced Wednesday.

The Adirondack Thunder, Brampton Beast, Maine Mariners, Newfoundland Growlers, Reading Royals, and Worcester Railers will each sit out the season due to the ECHL's COVID-19 policy. All six teams are scheduled to return for 2021-22.

All players on the North Division clubs are now free agents.

"As we continue to navigate the continually changing regulations across North America, we recognize the difficult nature of this decision," ECHL commissioner Ryan Crelin said in a statement. "While some of our teams' host cities have allowed upcoming plans to include fans inside arenas, we unfortunately do not see the same path for these highly affected areas in the Northeast."

Here are the division's NHL affiliations:

Wednesday's decision leaves 18 ECHL teams set to participate in 2020-21. The Atlanta Gladiators - who are affiliated with the Boston Bruins - and the unaffiliated Norfolk Admirals previously opted out of the campaign.

The ECHL is set to use a two-tiered system for the coming season. Thirteen teams will begin 72-game schedules on Dec. 11, while the other clubs will open 62-game slates on Jan. 15 "upon jurisdictional approval," according to ESPN's Greg Wyshynski.

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Akim Aliu is pleased the Florida Panthers are hiring Brett Peterson, the former player agent who's believed to be the NHL's first Black assistant general manager.

"It's massive," Aliu, the co-head of the Hockey Diversity Alliance, told TSN's Kate Beirness. "It's a huge step in hopefully the right direction, and I couldn't be more thrilled. ... This is kind of what we're pushing for, and it's long overdue.

"We feel that there's a lot of people of color that are deserving of jobs and also people from different genders - obviously, women I think are very (adept at) doing a good job in the game of hockey - so we think this is a step in the right direction where hopefully this is the first of many."

Though Aliu approves of the move, he believes the NHL still has room for improvement.

"Honestly, it's a relief to see that things are kind of starting to come together, but I just think we've still got a lot of work to do," he said. "I think there are still people that are not super happy with some of the issues that are going on in our game and are not ready to accept the issues that have been going on in our game."

The Panthers hired Peterson on Tuesday, reuniting new Florida GM Bill Zito with his former colleague in player representation. The two worked together with Acme World Sports, the company Zito founded before leaving for the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2013.

Peterson's hiring continues a recent trend of minority hires in the NHL. Manny Malhotra joined the Toronto Maple Leafs as an assistant coach in September while the Philadelphia Flyers added Chris Stewart to their player development staff. In October, the Pittsburgh Penguins tabbed Trevor Daley as a hockey operations advisor upon his retirement. Stewart and Daley are two of the nine founders of the HDA.

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Canada's deputy chief of public health feels optimistic regarding the proposed health and safety protocols for the 2021 world juniors in Edmonton.

"We've been engaged in ongoing discussions with Hockey Canada and all the relevant partners, including public health officials from the province of Alberta," Dr. Howard Njoo said Tuesday, according to The Canadian Press.

"I think the proposals and what's been put forward to us at the present time look very promising. It looks very good."

The planned Edmonton bubble will require players and team personnel to isolate themselves from the public during the event. Additionally, fans won't be permitted to attend games.

The NHL did not record a single positive COVID-19 test between the Edmonton and Toronto bubbles during the playoffs. Njoo believes Edmonton's experience handling the situation will be beneficial.

"Certainly the lessons learned, the experience Alberta had, because they had one of the hub cities for the NHL playoffs, will certainly serve them in good stead," Njoo said. "So, at this point, we're still looking at the proposals, but I can say, from a technical public health point of view, it looks good."

However, Njoo said public health officials are still reviewing the proposals.

Canada's selection camp began Tuesday, but 14 players were apparently not on the ice due to mandatory quarantines, because they didn't receive their test results in time to travel Monday, or because they weren't cleared to travel, according to TSN's Ryan Rishaug.

The tournament is set to begin Christmas Day and conclude with the bronze and gold medal games Jan. 5.

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The New York Islanders may be trolling their fan base.

All 31 NHL teams revealed their Reverse Retro jerseys on Monday. The Islanders' design was met with criticism due to the subtle difference compared to the club's current jersey.

Fans wanted to see the return of the "Captain Highliner" design, which the team donned from 1995 to 1997. The logo was lambasted at the time for resembling that of Gorton's fish sticks, but it appears it holds some nostalgic value.

Oddly enough, the team announced Tuesday it would begin selling merchandise featuring the Fisherman logo.

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Tomas Hertl is ready whenever the 2020-21 season begins, and the San Jose Sharks forward says he's recovered after suffering a devastating knee injury nearly a year ago.

"I feel good. I started actually skating in early August back home when I was in Czech, and now we’re skating three times a week here. My knee is feeling good," Hertl told The Athletic's Kevin Kurz.

"If (the Sharks were playing games) I’d be for sure ready to play right now," he continued. "It’s no issue, and feeling strong. One good thing, I still have time to get even stronger and stronger and make sure everything is good."

Hertl tore his ACL and MCL in a game on Jan. 3 last season. He underwent surgery on Feb. 3.

The 27-year-old was enjoying another solid campaign before the injury, and he was named to his first All-Star team. He appeared in 48 contests while racking up 16 goals and 20 assists, and Hertl ranked second on the team in goals and points at the time of his injury.

With the season tentatively slated to begin on Jan. 1, Hertl is itching to get back into a game.

"I got time to regroup and I don’t have to start early. I know if we start in January, I will be ready to go," he said. "At the same time, it’s getting longer because I got injured end of January and now I’m working for nine months straight just in the gym, so that’s kind of in your head. I just keep working out, and the worst thing is you don’t know when you actually start."

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The NHL is asking its players to defer 13% of their pay for the upcoming campaign as part of return-to-play negotiations, sources told Larry Brooks of the New York Post.

The NHLPA agreed to a 10% deferral as part of the six-year collective bargaining agreement extension signed in July before the league returned for the expanded postseason. That money is due to be repaid in three equal, interest-free installments in October 2022, 2023, and 2024.

Several players who have large signing bonuses would be unable to defer the combined 23%, according to PuckPedia.

If players agree to the deferral, it would mean no pro-rated salaries for the upcoming season, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman reports.

However, the CBA Memo of Understanding states: "The parties also agree to continue discussions regarding the possibility of allowing players and clubs to negotiate additional deferrals on a case-by-case basis."

The NHL is targeting a Jan. 1 start date and is expected to conduct a regular season of 48 to 60 games.

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