Russia's hockey chief threatens compensation demands if barred from Alberta world juniors

Russian hockey federation president Vladislav Tretiak is threatening to seek compensation from Canada and to push for next month's world junior championship in Alberta to be relocated or called off entirely if Russia is not allowed to compete.

The warning, reported by state news agency TASS on Thursday, came one day after Ottawa confirmed that Russian players would not be permitted to take part in the tournament even if they already hold valid Canadian visas, despite a Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling last month that ordered Russia's reinstatement to international hockey.

According to TASS, Tretiak told a presidential sports council meeting that Russia would also demand compensation from Germany, host of the 2027 men's world championship, if its teams are denied participation there as well.

"There are rules: if a team does not take the ice, it receives a forfeit loss and sanctions are imposed," Tretiak said in comments translated from Russian. "The IIHF has a way out: either allow us to participate or, if we cannot enter Canada, move the championship, not hold it at all or impose sanctions on Canada."

Tretiak, a legendary Soviet goaltender and three-time Olympic gold medallist, also said his federation had asked the International Ice Hockey Federation's ethics council to investigate and punish national federations that organize boycotts of games against Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin told the same meeting that federations were refusing to play Russian teams under pressure from their governments, TASS reported, without identifying the countries involved. Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Norway have all said their teams will refuse to face Russia.

Russia and Belarus have been banned from international hockey since Russia invaded Ukraine with Belarusian assistance in 2022. The dispute escalated after the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Oct. 30 that the IIHF must allow Russian teams into five international tournaments, beginning with the world juniors in Edmonton and Red Deer starting Dec. 26.

Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that Russian and Belarusian athletes would not be permitted to represent their countries in Canada while the war continues. The federal government's earlier position had allowed individual athletes to compete as neutrals, raising questions about a possible Russian entry under a neutral banner, but Secretary of State for Sport Adam van Koeverden clarified Monday that the exemption applied only to individual athletes, not national teams. In a statement Wednesday, van Koeverden said Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada would assess Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials individually to prevent them from competing at the men's under-20 tournament in Alberta, even if they hold valid visas.

Russian players with valid visas already compete in the Canadian Hockey League, the umbrella organization for the country's three major junior leagues. Russian and Belarusian players were barred from the CHL's import draft from 2022 to 2024 before being allowed back in, and according to the CHL, Russia led this year's draft with 32 of the 114 players selected.

The standoff has also clouded Norway's participation. Norway's hockey federation said Sunday that the IIHF had informed it Russia would be added to the world junior tournament at Norway's expense. Norway qualified for the championship and says it still hopes to compete. The IIHF has not formally announced any changes to the field, its website continues to list Norway among the 10 participating teams, and it did not immediately respond to a request for comment on possibly cancelling or relocating the tournament, which concludes Jan. 5.