Most players in the National Hockey League (NHL) are expected to be vaccinated by the time the season starts.

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told The Athletic that the league’s vaccination rate is about 98%.

Daily said fewer than 15 players will likely not be vaccinated by Oct. 12, when the season officially begins.

"We want everybody fully vaccinated and, obviously, the last couple of months have shown that that doesn’t necessarily preclude the fact that people are going to get the infection. But it certainly increases the likelihood that it’s not a serious health and safety concern,” Daily told The Athletic.

Daily gave credit to the union representing to players and medical staff for education teams on the importance of getting a COVID-19 vaccine.

"We've had some player reluctance on vaccination," Daly said. "Our latest information is that reluctance is receding. Some players who were holdouts are going to go forward and get vaccinated, so hopefully, at some point in the season we'll have 100 percent fully vaccinated."

Daly said fans will need to be fully vaccinated to attend home games in at least 10 cities.