The IIHF says Russia will not have a team at the 2027 world junior hockey championship in Alberta next month, citing Canadian government restrictions.
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The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) confirmed that Russia will not compete at the 2027 world junior hockey championship in Alberta next month, with the tournament scheduled to begin Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer.
In an IIHF statement, the organization said it decided to proceed with the Alberta hosting plan “after carefully assessing the feasibility of alternative arrangements,” and added that an updated competition schedule will be posted shortly. The IIHF said all participating member national associations have been informed.
Hockey Canada said in a statement that it “fully support[s] the IIHF’s announcement today and look[s] forward to hosting the IIHF World Junior Championship 2027 in Alberta next month as planned.”
The IIHF said Russia would not be able to play despite a mandate for the country’s reinstatement from the Court of Arbitration for Sport, following restrictions put in place by the federal government.
Russia’s federation said the IIHF’s decision was “unacceptable” and “unlawful,” adding that the IIHF acted “solely due to political reasons” and in violation of a binding and effective CAS ruling requiring Russian national teams to be allowed to participate in international competitions. The Russian Ice Hockey Federation said it will make a joint appeal with the Russian Olympic Committee to the International Olympic Committee and pursue “all available legal avenues” to seek enforcement of the CAS ruling.
The federal government said Russians and Belarusians would be barred from competing in Alberta regardless of the CAS decision. Prime Minister Mark Carney said on Nov. 3 that Russians and Belarusians would not compete for their countries in Canada while the war in Ukraine is ongoing, and specifically that “the Russians will not be there” for the world juniors.
The IIHF said Russia has been banned from international hockey tournaments since 2022 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and it said the CAS ruling would have affected the world junior championship and four other tournaments, including a women’s world championship in Quebec City in November 2027.
As the impasse continued following the government’s stance, a number of hockey federations publicly indicated they would not play Russia, including Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Latvia. The court later defended its decision, saying the IIHF failed to provide sufficient evidence to justify continuing its ban on Russian teams, and that its ruling was based on legal arguments and evidence presented.
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