IIHF | RMNB

Evgeny Kuznetsov has served his four-year suspension from IIHF, now eligible to play in national team tournaments

Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov has completed serving his four-year suspension levied by the IIHF in August of 2019 when the Russian center tested positive for cocaine. Cocaine is a banned substance by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

Kuznetsov is now eligible to play in national team tournaments although Russia is still currently banned from the events due to the country’s invasion of Ukraine. WADA released the news to Russian news agency TASS on Saturday.

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By Chris Cerullo 4 months ago

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Gary Bettman met with IIHF president Luc Tardif during All-Star Weekend to discuss Olympic participation and World Cup

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly met with leaguewide media on Saturday at their annual all-star press conference. Among the variety of topics they discussed was one about NHL players and their future involvement in international best-on-best tournaments.

The last time NHL players competed at the Olympic Games was 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Overall, the last best-on-best tournament featuring national teams with NHL players was played in a heavily modified format during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Bettman said that he and Daly met with International Ice Hockey Federation president Luc Tardif this week in South Florida about both of those events.

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By Chris Cerullo 10 months ago

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IIHF indefinitely suspends Russia and Belarus teams from competition, moves 2023 WJC out of Novosibirsk

The International Ice Hockey Federation Council suspended all Russian and Belarusian national and club teams from IIHF competitions and events “until further notice” due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The IIHF also announced that Russia will be stripped of hosting the 2023 World Junior Championship in Novosibirsk.

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By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago

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Report: ‘Wide support’ for immediate removal of Russian teams from all IIHF events for rest of 2022

According to TSN’s Gord Miller, there is “wide support” for the immediate removal of Russian teams from all IIHF events for the rest of 2022 due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Those events include the World Championship and the World Junior Championships scheduled for August and December as well as moving the 2023 WJC out of Russia.

TSN’s Darren Dreger also reports that the International Ice Hockey Federation will have a council meeting tomorrow where those topics will be discussed.

The meeting was called by the IIHF Council for the direct purpose of “reviewing and considering the implications” of the invasion on IIHF events.

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By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago

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2022 World Junior Championship tournament canceled due to COVID

According to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan, the 2022 World Junior Championship has been canceled. Positive COVID cases saw the USA, Russia, and Czechia all forced to forfeit recent group stage games and future forfeits were expected.

Wednesday afternoon, Chris Peters of Daily Faceoff reported that the IIHF tournament directorate was to meet today to discuss the future of this year’s tournament. It appears they ultimately came to the conclusion that the cancellation of the remaining games was the best option.

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By Chris Cerullo 2 years ago

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Report: NHL will close locker rooms to media due to coronavirus fears

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman is reporting that NHL locker rooms, starting today, will no longer be open to the media as the league tries to protect itself from the coronavirus. All interviews moving forward will be conducted in a formal press conference area.

The change was made due to a recommendation from the United States’ Centers for Disease Control. The NBA, MLB, and MLS are expected to follow suit.

The locker rooms closing comes as over 350 people in the United States have contracted the disease, including three people in Maryland

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By Ian Oland 4 years ago

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Coronavirus forces cancellation of IIHF tournaments as worries arise over NHL hockey stick shortage

The coronavirus (COVID-19) has infected nearly 100k people and killed more than 3,000 worldwide according to the New York Times. The virus is now present on every continent except Antarctica.

As countries try to contain its spread, two major hockey organizations have decided to cancel or suspend play in Europe and Asia where countries continue to report an increase in coronavirus cases.

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By Ian Oland 4 years ago

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