Russia’s return complicates Alberta’s world junior men’s hockey championship

CALGARY — A ruling ordering the International Ice Hockey Federation to reinstate Russia has raised questions about the upcoming world junior men’s hockey championship in Alberta and angered Canadian politicians.

The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled Friday that Russia must be allowed back into international hockey. That overturned a ban imposed following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Hockey Canada expressed disappointment with the ruling and said it was seeking clarity on the implications for future competitions, including the world junior men’s championship, which begins in less than two months in Edmonton and Red Deer.

The organization said in a statement Friday it was in contact with the IIHF to learn more and had briefed the federal government on the outcome.

But the IIHF said in a statement Friday the ruling will affect five international tournaments in 2027, including the world junior men’s championship that begins Dec. 26, 2026, in Alberta, and also the 2027 women’s world championship in Quebec City.

Russia’s hockey federation indicated it plans to play in Alberta, identifying the world junior championship in Edmonton and Red Deer as its next major tournament in a statement posted to its English-language X account.

Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand and Secretary of Sport Adam van Koeverden both condemned the ruling allowing Russia to return to international hockey.

Hosting a Russian hockey team would put Canada in a difficult position given its military and humanitarian support for Ukraine.

“Canada is extremely disappointed by this decision to allow Russia to compete in these junior hockey events,” Anand said from Atlanta, Ga., where she attended the G20 foreign ministers’ meeting.

“We strongly oppose this outcome. We will continue to maintain our own restrictions on the participation of Russian athletes at events hosted in Canada that receive federal funding.

“We’re exploring further options, in fact, to ensure that the Russian government is held accountable.”

The federal government had not yet committed any money to the 2027 world junior tournament, according to Hockey Canada. The provincial government provided $11 million back in 2024 to host hockey events, including the 2027 world juniors.

Van Koeverden echoed Anand in a statement.

“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,” he wrote.

Russia’s possible return also raises logistical questions about how the 10-country junior men’s tournament in Alberta could accommodate an additional country on short notice, with schedules and other arrangements already in place.

“The ruling also has significant practical implications for competitions already at an advanced stage of preparation,” the IIHF said in its statement.

“Changes to participation require extensive coordination with the relevant member national associations, organizing committees and host authorities, including a review of competition formats, schedules, travel and accommodation arrangements, and safety and security measures.

“These decisions made by CAS do not consider the practical elements which cannot be implemented immediately.”

The IIHF banned both Russia and Belarus from international tournaments on Feb. 28, 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Belarusian support of it.

The hockey federations of Finland, Sweden, Germany and Czechia issued statements Friday expressing dismay at the CAS ruling and Russia’s impending return.

Finnish Ice Hockey Federation chair Heikki Hietanen wrote, “no player or team official is under any obligation to take part in a tournament in which Russia or Belarus is involved. We understand and support those who do not wish to participate in such competitions.”

Germany is the host of the 2027 men’s world championship, and Ukraine is a participating country.

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

Further down the road, Canada and Czechia will co-host the eight-country World Cup of Hockey in 2028. Canada’s host cities will be Edmonton and Calgary.

The NHL hadn’t announced the complete tournament field before Friday’s Russian development.

“It’s obviously a relevant piece of information that will be part of all factors we will have to weigh in making our decision,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said in a statement.

Alberta is home to more than 400,000 Ukrainians or people of Ukrainian descent, according to Lydia Migus, president of the Ukrainian Canadian Congress’s Alberta chapter.

She woke up to the news Friday morning that a Russian hockey team could be competing in the province in a matter of weeks.

“It’s basically a slap in the face for humanity,” Migus said. “We all know that Russia is using both culture and sports as a propaganda tool to normalize this war.

“If Canada allows these players to attend, it’s just countering what they did by opening their doors for those who are fleeing the war in the first place for security and peace.”

Roughly 65,000 to 70,000 Ukrainians have arrived in Alberta since the war began almost five years ago, she said.

Alberta Premier Danielle Smith acknowledged the difficulty of the situation Friday but said she would not try to block Russia’s participation in the tournament.

“We all hold out hope for an international resolution of the conflict so that those who want to return home are able to safely, but we appreciate and understand the emotions that people are feeling today. It’s completely justified and legitimate,” Smith said.

“Engaging in sport can be a pathway to some greater collaboration, and I think that’s what we can all hold out hope for, but we will comply, just acknowledging, though, that it’s probably a very difficult decision for those who are still displaced from their homeland to be seeing that’s what the international bodies have ruled.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 30, 2026.

— With files from Dylan Robertson in Ottawa and Jack Farrell in Edmonton.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press