The IIHF canceled the remainder of its 2022 World Juniors Championship on Wednesday because of a rising number of COVID-19 cases among players, sources told ESPN’s Emily Kaplan.
There was a meeting Wednesday afternoon among IIHF officials to discuss how to keep the tournament going despite COVID issues, but those present decided cancellation was the best path.
The news comes on the heels of three tournament games being forfeited in the past 24 hours after positive tests started popping up. On Tuesday, the USA forfeited its game to Switzerland after two players contracted the virus, and on Wednesday positive cases forced the Czech Republic to forfeit against Finland and Russia to forfeit against Slovakia.
For the second straight year the tournament was in Alberta, but unlike the 2021 event in Edmonton, players and staff were not in a bubble environment that would provide extra protection against the virus. Teams stayed in hotels open to the public, and with the highly contagious omicron variant, even the most vigilant adherence to protocols couldn’t totally prevent illnesses.
Several teams expressed frustration to tournament organizers about the bubble environment not being as secure as advertised. Teams in Red Deer shared the hotel with the general public, including a large wedding party.
The IIHF was expected to make a formal statement on the cancellation later Wednesday.