Bermuda Hogges upcoming Premier Development League (PDL) season is not expected to clash with this summer’s Digicel Caribbean Cup.Due to changes made to the US Open Cup format, a knockout tournament including teams from Major League Soccer and United Soccer Leagues (USL), the PDL will start on April 30, a few weeks earlier than previous campaigns.Therefore, it's likely there will be no overlap between the PDL season and the Digicel Cup when the Bermuda national team, featuring a large majority of the Hogges squad, will push to qualify for the Gold Cup.Paul Scope, the Hogges owner, believes the PDL season will serve as ideal preparation for the national team, who had an impressive World Cup qualifying campaign, finishing their final four games unbeaten.“It looks like (the Hogges) will be finished just before the Digicel Cup which will be tremendous,” said Scope, a former national team assistant coach.“I believe there will be an international Under-20 tournament before the Hogges season as well, so there should be continuous play ahead of the Digicel Cup.“I don’t think Hogges are 100 percent the reason why there has been an upturn in the national team’s results but I do think we have certainly helped.”Scope believes the accelerated start to the PDL season will also work in Hogges favour as they won’t have to cram in as many games in quick succession.“Because there’s a difference with how PDL teams qualify for the US Open Cup we will be able to start our season a little earlier,” he said.“We will be starting at the start of May rather than the end of the month which actually helps in that we won’t have to play so many double-headers to get the games in.”Bermuda and Antigua, the only two Caribbean nations to have teams playing in the USL, have both deemed their recent World Cup qualifying campaign successful.Antigua far exceeded expectations, topping their qualifying group ahead of regional powerhouse Haiti, which Scope reckons is evidence that the USL model is the way forward for the smaller Islands.Antigua Barracuda FC play in the division above the Hogges, the USL Pro League, where they finished their inaugural season in ninth position.“Both Antigua and Bermuda have gone up in the rankings and the USL see that as a positive thing as both have a team in the USL,” Scope added.“There’s been a lot of talk recently following the Commission of Inquiry about bang for buck well, there’s no doubt the Bermuda Football Association are getting bang for buck from the Bermuda Hogges.“The financial assistance we get from the BFA is tantamount to the cost of bringing one national team in to play, or sending one Bermuda team to play abroad. You get the 16 competitive games and so much more as well with all of aspirational stuff, not to mention the contacts we make through the USL..”A new franchise, the Baltimore Bohemians, have joined the PDL and will play in the Hogges’ Mid Atlantic Division, increasing the number of teams to ten.