The IIHF made room for Russia at the world juniors by bumping Norway
Norway says it was dropped to Division 1A for a Russian team that Canada's prime minister says won't be allowed in.
The IIHF had a court problem with Russia, and it solved it by handing the bill to the one country that did nothing wrong.
Norway says it has been dropped from the world juniors to make room for Russia. If that holds, the only country punished by this whole saga is the one whose men's team beat Canada for bronze at the worlds in May.
Here's where it stands. The Norwegian Ice Hockey Association said Sunday it had been told it is being moved down to Division 1A so Russia can take its spot at the 10-team tournament, which opens in Alberta on Dec. 26. Norway came in as the 10th-ranked team in the field.
The IIHF hasn't formally announced anything, and its own tournament page still lists Norway.
The trigger is the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling that reinstated Russian teams to international play. The IIHF has already kept Belarus out of the world juniors and the men's worlds, and said it was looking for ways to meet the ruling on Russia.
We covered that first step on Saturday. This is what "looking for ways" turned out to mean.
Norway isn't pretending it's settled. "The situation is still unclear," secretary general Peter Salsten said. He said the decision "makes us hope that the last word has not been said about our participation in Canada," and that it shows "all the practical challenges and immediate consequences" of bringing a country back overnight.
He has a point, and there's a bigger one sitting right next to it.
Russia may not be allowed in the building anyway. Prime Minister Mark Carney said last week that while Russia supports the war in Ukraine, "the Russians will not be there." Hockey Canada thanked the government for its position. Gord had the Canadian side of it when it happened.
Then there's the boycott. Six countries, Norway among them, have said they won't play Russia while the war goes on: Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Latvia and Denmark. Several long-time sponsors have said they'll walk if Russia competes.
Russia hasn't played this tournament since finishing fourth in 2021. Its ban began after the February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
So follow the IIHF's logic to the end. It may be bumping Norway for a team the host country won't let in, that six nations won't play, and that sponsors won't pay to watch. That isn't a hockey decision. It's a liability memo with a schedule attached.
Ferda take: the IIHF is protecting itself from the next appeal, and Norway's under-20 kids are the cheapest place to do it. They earned their place on the ice. Moving them down to satisfy a ruling about a different country is the kind of fix that gets reversed the minute anyone has to defend it in public.
The call: Norway plays in Alberta on Dec. 26, Russia doesn't, and the IIHF spends January explaining why it moved anybody at all. If we're wrong, it'll be because Ottawa blinked, not because the IIHF found its spine.
