WJC cancelled... (Boooo!!!)

[theohall]

WJC Cancelled

The 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship was cancelled Wednesday after four days of play due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus.

In the past two days, the United States, Czechia and Russia each had to forfeit a preliminary-round game after players tested positive for COVID-19.

The United States forfeited its game against Switzerland on Tuesday and entered quarantine after two players tested positive for the virus. On Wednesday, Czechia forfeited its game against Finland after one player tested positive and Russia forfeited its game against Slovakia when one player tested positive.

The decision was made during a meeting Wednesday.

"Together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada," IIHF President Luc Tardif said. "The ongoing spread of COVID-19 and the omicron variant forced us to readjust our protocols almost immediately upon arrival to attempt to stay ahead of any potential spread. This included daily testing and the team quarantine requirement when positive cases were confirmed.

"We owed it to the participating teams to do our best to create the conditions necessary for this event to work. Unfortunately, this was not enough. We now have to take some time and focus on getting all players and team staff back home safely."

The 2022 tournament was held in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta, because the 2021 event, scheduled for the same cities, was played without fans in attendance and in a secure-zone "bubble" at Rogers Place in Edmonton.

The United States won the championship with a 2-0 victory against Canada in the final.

This year, the Alberta government allowed the venues, Rogers Place and WP Centrium in Red Deer, to have 50-percent capacity for spectators when the 10-team tournament began Dec. 26. Most of the pre-tournament schedule was scrapped as teams served a quarantine upon arrival in Canada, but eight of the 10 teams were able to play a game Dec. 23; a scheduled game between Czechia and Switzerland was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns.

The 2023 tournament is scheduled for Dec. 26 through Jan. 5 in Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia. The 10 teams from the 2022 WJC will return, along with Belarus, which was promoted after winning the Division I Group A tournament in Denmark on Dec. 18.

[theohall]

Looks like the cancelled WJC will be played in August in Edmonton. Hurray - assuming Canada doesn't put stupid Covid rules in place, maybe they will finish it this time.