Norway Says IIHF Cut It From World Juniors to Make Room for Russia

The 2027 World Junior Championship has 10 slots and no confirmed 10th team, with the tournament set to drop the puck Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta. The Norwegian Ice Hockey Association (NIHF) says the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) informed it that it had been removed so Russia could take its place. As of Monday, the IIHF's own website still listed Norway among the participants.

The shuffle follows a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last month ordering the IIHF to let Russia back into international play, according to dw.com. The World Juniors is the first tournament caught in the fallout. The IIHF barred Russia and Belarus from international competition shortly after Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, and on Saturday it said it was taking the steps the CAS ruling requires while reviewing what conditions are needed to protect its championships, its finances and the sport's future.

Russia's path onto the ice is anything but clear. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ruled it out last week, saying that as long as Russia and Belarus back the war in Ukraine, none of their athletes will compete for their countries in Canada. Swiss Ice Hockey said its team would not face Russia, matching refusals from Finland, Sweden and others, and several long-time corporate sponsors have threatened to walk if Russia is allowed in. NIHF General Secretary Petter Salsten said the pushback gives Norway hope that the final word on its participation hasn't been spoken.

Germany is wrestling with the same problem ahead of hosting the Men's Ice Hockey World Championship next May. DEB chairman Frank H. Lutz told MagentaSport he is very optimistic the tournament will go ahead in Germany, though he reiterated the federation's rejection of the CAS ruling and gave no route around it. Government spokesman Stefan Kornelius said Berlin backs the DEB's search for a solution but that the boycotts that would follow Russia's readmission make it effectively impossible. A Foreign Ministry spokesman, Martin Giese, said there can be no normalcy while Russia wages its war, and indicated visas for a Russian team would be difficult, without ruling them out.

Looming over all of it is Munich's bid to host the Summer Olympics in 2036, 2040 or 2044. The IOC recently lifted its sanctions on Russian athletes and its suspension of the Russian National Olympic Committee, and Kornelius declined to speculate on whether the hockey fight could hurt Munich's chances. The IOC decides in the next few weeks whether Munich advances to the next stage.