World Juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer to be played at half capacity
Yet another prominent hockey event has been hit by the Omicron variant.
The Province of Alberta announced on Tuesday capacity limits to battle the spread of COVID-19. For venues over 1,000, it’s 50 percent capacity, and, for venues between 5,000-1,000, capacity capped at 500.
This will affect the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames once the NHL returns after the Christmas break, but it’ll also have ramifications for the upcoming World Junior Championships, which are being played in Edmonton and Red Deer.
2022 World Juniors at @RogersPlace will be played at 50% capacity with no eating or drinking in the stands, according to Alberta Health. Big blow for @HockeyCanada and @IIHFHockey, who were hoping a second go-round in Edmonton would be with a full house.
Edmonton hosted the WJC last winter in a bubble without any fans. The hope this year with the introduction of COVID-19 vaccines was that they would be able to go on as normal, but that won’t be the case.
The tournament is set to begin on December 26.
More from Cam Lewis
- The Nashville Predators have signed Dante Fabbro to a one-year contract extension
- Washington Capitals sign Nicolas Aube-Kubel to one-year contract extension
- Los Angeles Kings sign Mikey Anderson to eight-year contract extension
- Buffalo Sabres sign Dylan Cozens to seven-year contract extension
- Cale Makar won’t suit up for the Avalanche when they face the Flames on Wednesday night