After being cancelled in December due to rising COVID-19 numbers, the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship will be played this summer, the hockey organization announced Thursday.
While at an event at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardiff told reporters the tournament will take place in August.
“It will be a new competition, which means we forget the results (in December),” he said. The age category of the tournament will stay the same as well, featuring players born in 2002 or later.
The tournament was cancelled Dec. 29, 2021 after multiple COVID-19 cases were found in a number of teams.
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“Together with the teams, we came into this event with full confidence in the COVID-19 protocols put in place by the IIHF, the LOC, Alberta Health, Alberta Health Services and the Public Health Agency of Canada,” Tardiff said at the time.
The new tournament will be a “hockey festival” of sorts, Tardiff said Thursday, taking place after the Hlinka Gretzky Cup.
“We are talking with all participants and are negotiating on details,” he said. “The teams are excited to do it.”
The IIHF hasn’t confirmed whether the tournament would take place again in Edmonton and Red Deer, but the City of Edmonton said it would be excited to have the tournament back.
“The World Juniors is an important hosting opportunity that offers Edmonton significant economic, reputation and social benefits, so we would look forward to welcoming the event back to our city,” a statement read.
By delaying the events to the summer, the IIHF said its hoping a better situation and less protocols.