Belarus, Russia's return to IIHF competition may take 'years'

The IIHF Congress met in recent days to announce host countries for future events such as the World Championship and Women's World Championship.

TSN's Gord Miller posted a list of the next ten hosts for the World Juniors, most locations were named five years ago, but many people were quick to point out that Russia is scheduled to host in 2032.

Miller said that it's unlikely they'll remain as hosts for the tournament and went on to say that it's the overwhelming consensus among other national teams that Russia and Belarus won't be reinstated by the IIHF anytime soon and that it'll take years before they return to competition.




Belarus and Russia were banned by the International Ice Hockey Federation back in early 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine. Russia was supposed to host the 2023 World Juniors and 2023 World Championship, but because of their ban, the IIHF had to move the tournaments to Canada and Finland/Latvia, respectively.

It'll be interesting to see what happens with Russia's potential participation at the World Cup of Hockey, which is tentatively set for February 2025. The World Cup of Hockey is run by the NHL and NHLPA, not the IIHF, so while it's unlikely they'll allow Russia to play, but it'll be something to watch over the next year.

Further to that, the overwhelming consensus among national federations here at the @IIHFHockey congress is that it will be years before Russia and Belarus are readmitted, regardless of when or how the invasion of Ukraine ends.— Gord Miller 🌻 (@GMillerTSN) May 26, 2023