CMJ: Norway Withdrawn from the Tournament to Make Way for Russia

Mathis Therrien
CMJ: Norway Withdrawn from the Tournament to Make Way for Russia
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

A little over a week ago, it was reported that a decision had been reached regarding Russia's participation in international hockey tournaments.

The CAS, or Court of Arbitration for Sport, decided to allow Russia to return to international hockey through the upcoming tournaments currently being organized.

The IIHF stated that it disagrees with the decision, but it has no choice but to comply with the CAS ruling.

This means that Russia can officially return to international tournaments, starting with the World Junior Championship, which will take place as usual during the holiday season—this year in Canada, in Edmonton and Red Deer.

And now, ahead of this tournament, another decision has just been announced: the IIHF has informed the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation that it will be removed from the World Junior Championship to make way for Russia.

This was announced by the official account of the Norwegian Ice Hockey Federation, which, of course, does not agree with the decision.

Russia is ranked 10th in the world under the new World Junior Championship format, which means that in a ten-team tournament, the lowest-ranked country—Norway—had to give up its spot.

This is truly unfortunate for Norway, which is currently on the rise in international hockey.

Of course, this decision is purely administrative, given that Canada has already stated that it would refuse to grant visas to Russian players for the tournament.

It therefore remains to be seen whether Canada will allow the Russians to enter the country, and if not, whether the IIHF will be allowed to reinstate Norway.

It's also worth noting that several countries, such as Finland and Germany, have consistently stated that they will not play against Russia and are boycotting Russian participation in international hockey.

All of this remains to be closely monitored.

Personally, I believe that young Russian players should not be penalized for their country's politics, and that they, like everyone else, deserve the chance to prove themselves on the international stage.

Several promising young Russian players, including Alexander Zharovsky and Gleb Pugachyov with the Canadiens, could boost their profiles with a tournament like this.

It's clear that Russia would be very competitive, as it always has been.

Let's also see what all of this means for the potential 2028 Ice Hockey World Cup.


In Brief

– Read more.

– I agree that Engstrom is doing very well.

– For those interested.

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