Hockey Canada, others react to overturning of ban against Russia

As the hockey world gets set for Russia’s return to international hockey, some people aren’t quite ready yet.

In the wake of the Court of Arbitration for Sport announcing that the Russian Ice Hockey Federation will be permitted to submit teams for international ice hockey tournament, other international sporting federations have released statements against the ruling, most notably Hockey Canada.

Russia remains a geopolitical issue for many countries, particularly in Europe, due to their invasions of Ukraine, which have occurred for almost five years. Russia have been banned from IIHF-sanctioned tournaments during that process, until now.

“Hockey Canada shares the International Ice Hockey Federation’s (HF) disappointment with the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s (CAS) decision today,” Hockey Canada said in a statement regarding the announcement. “While the implications of the ruling are not immediately clear, our organization is in contact with the IIHF to learn more and we await further understanding of the potential impact the decision will have on the IH’s Member National Associations and future competitions. We have briefed the Government of Canada of the outcome of the CAS proceedings and will provide updates as they become available.”

Hockey Canada’s reaction is particularly notable because they will be hosting the next tournament that the ruling applies to, the 2027 World Junior Hockey Championship, which will take place in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. The 2026 Women’s World Championship takes place before that, but because it starts next week, that is too short notice for Russia to join.

“Canada maintains, as it has since 2022, that Russia should not be represented in international sport competitions while Russia’s illegal and unjustifiable full-scale invasion against Ukraine continues,” Canada’s Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden said in a statement. “Canada will maintain restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes at events hosted in Canada that receive funding from the Government of Canada and explore further options to ensure that the Russian government is held accountable.”

Based on the statements, it’s possible that the Canadian government may still have a say in Russia’s participation in the 2027 World Juniors, including banning Russian teams from entering the country. Other countries will likely protest, particularly Finland and Sweden, which could prevent Russia from joining for the time being. The tournament also begins in less than two months, which could be too short of a time span to adjust the participants.

“The Ice Hockey Association strongly condemns Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine; in our view, there are no grounds for the participation of Russia or Belarus in international ice hockey activities under the current circumstances,” Finnish Ice Hockey Federation chair Heikki Hietanen said in a statement.

“We maintain that, under the current circumstances, Russia cannot participate in international championships,” Swedish Ice Hockey President Anders Larsson said.

“Allowing Russia to participate would have significant security, political, and economic consequences for us as hosts,” German federation board chair Frank H. Lutz wrote on the program’s website.

The ruling also only applies to IIHF-sanctioned events, so tournaments like the U17 World Challenge or Four Nations tournaments in Europe do not have to let Russia participate. The NHL also does not have to follow this ruling for the World Cup of Hockey, but they also never had to follow the IIHF’s ban in the first place, they just opted not to, largely influenced by Finland and Sweden’s threat to leave if Russia did participate.