The federal government has responded to Russia’s potential return to international hockey with a resounding nyet.
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government → respond → nyet
According to a report by The Athletic, officials in Ottawa confirmed that they will not allow Russia to compete at the International Ice Hockey Federation-sanctioned tournament starting Dec. 26 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., backing up a vow last month from Prime Minister Mark Carney that their team would “absolutely” not be allowed into the country.
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team → accord → country
“As the prime minister has said, as long as Russia and Belarus are supporting the war in Ukraine, athletes representing those countries will not be permitted to compete for their countries in Canada,” Adam van Koeverden, the secretary of state for sport, said in a statement to The Athletic.
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Koeverden → say → Athletic
“With respect to the 2026 World Junior Championship specifically, Russian athletes will not participate.”
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athletes → participate → Championship
The Liberal MP for Burlington North-Milton West also told The Athletic that Canada “will take measures to individually assess and prevent Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from entering Canada to compete, regardless of whether they already hold valid visas.”
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they → tell → visas
An email seeking confirmation from van Koeverden’s office – including whether similar measures were being considered for other events in Canada as next year’s women’s world championship will be held in Quebec City – was not immediately returned.
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championship → seek → City
Norway previously said Russia was taking spot
The decision to bar the Russian team from Canada ahead of the 10-team world juniors was made after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld an appeal filed by the Russian Ice Hockey Federation that allowed their teams to compete in five IIHF events this season: The world juniors, the under-18 men’s and women’s championships and the senior men’s and women’s worlds.
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teams → say → juniors
The IIHF had barred their team from those and other events over security and safety concerns.
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IIHF → bar → concerns
The women’s world championship is currently underway in Denmark and doesn’t include Russia, but plans had seemed to be underway to include Russia in the world juniors with Norway being informed that it would be bumped from the tournament and relegated to the second-tier Division 1A tournament in Budapest starting on Dec. 6.
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it → include → Dec.
Norway won that tournament last season to gain promotion to the top-tier World Junior Championship.
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Norway → win → Championship
“In the new setup for the U20 world juniors in Canada … Russia has been placed as nation No. 10,” a translated statement posted Saturday on the Norwegian Ice Hockey Association website said.
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statement → place → website
“This means that Norway, as the lowest ranked team, will be moved down to Division 1A.”
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Norway → mean → 1A.
The NIHA added that they were still awaiting “final clarification” from the IIHF, which has not responded to multiple attempts from the Toronto Sun to seek a comment on Norway’s participation and Canada’s decision to bar Russian players from entering the country.
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which → add → country
RECOMMENDED VIDEO
Russia’s options limited for world juniors: Report
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options → recommend → juniors
Before Canada’s decision to bar the Russian team was confirmed to the public, the RIHF had sent a letter to the IIHF on Monday demanding that their team be allowed to compete in the world juniors, The Athletic reported citing Russian outlet Match TV.
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Athletic → bar → TV
If not, they wanted the tournament moved to a country that would allow them to compete.
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them → want → country
The list of countries that would accommodate them, however, seems to be shrinking by the day — as evidenced by Latvia, the Czech Republic, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland all having refused to play Russia in international competition.
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Latvia → accommodate → competition
Turku, Finland, has even refused to host games during the 2028 tournament — co-hosted with Tampere, Finland — if Russia is allowed to compete, according to The Athletic.
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Russia → refuse → Athletic
The report said Russia’s options seem to be limited for the world juniors and would push the dispute into the new year with the under-18 women’s world championship set for Jan. 8 in Ostrava, Czech Republic.
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championship → say → Ostrava
The Aporia
