Russia urges IIHF to move Canada world juniors as hockey boycotts spread

Canadian authorities said Russians will be barred from the 10-nation tournament in Alberta from 26 December. Estonia, Finland and Norway plan to exclude athletes until the war in Ukraine ends.

The Russian Ice Hockey Federation is insisting that the World Junior Championship, due to take place in Canada next month, be postponed or cancelled after Ottawa decided not to allow the Russian team to take part in the tournament.

As the official Russian news agency TASS reported on Thursday, the president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation, Vladislav Tretiak, threatened to demand compensation from Canada and possibly also from Germany, which will host the men’s World Championship in 2027, if Russia is barred from participation.

Speaking at a meeting of the Presidential Council for the Development of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow, Tretiak said he had also appealed to the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) ethics committee to open an investigation and impose sanctions on national federations that are organising boycotts of games involving Russia.

"There are rules: if a team does not take to the ice, it suffers a technical defeat and sanctions are imposed," TASS quoted Tretiak as saying. "The IIHF has a way out - either they let us play, or, if we are unable to enter Canada, they move the championship, do not stage it at all, or impose sanctions on the Canadian ice hockey association."

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