Team Canada prepares for unusual world junior hockey championship
Pressure is always high for Canada at the world junior hockey championships.
But this year's team faces a whole host of unusual circumstances.
Not only will the squad be playing summer hockey on home soil when they begin tournament play against Latvia in Edmonton on Wednesday, they'll be doing so under unique scrutiny.
Hockey Canada has faced intense criticism in recent months for its handling of sexual assault allegations levied against members of former world junior teams.
The allegations prompted parliamentary inquiries and the federal government has frozen its funding of the organization.
Big-name sponsors — including Telus and Canadian Tire — followed suit, leaving the ice at Rogers Place free of ads and the surrounding boards devoid of the usual logos as play gets underway Tuesday with Slovakia taking on Czechia. Later in the day, Finland will face Latvia and Germany will battle the reigning champion Americans.
The buzz and excitement that surrounded the initial 2022 tournament in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., is largely absent.
That iteration of the tournament was called off on Dec. 29 after just four days as rising COVID-19 cases among players and officials forced games to be forfeited.
The world juniors are a showcase of the best under-20 players across the globe, but the International Ice Hockey Federation has allowed athletes born in 2002 who have already turned 20 to play in this summer's championship.
Despite the rejigged eligibility, several big Canadian talents are missing from the tournament, including former captain Kaiden Guhle (a Montreal Canadiens prospect) and defenceman Owen Power, who the Buffalo Sabres selected first overall in the 2021 NHL entry draft.
Forward Shane Wright, taken fourth overall by the Seattle Kraken at the 2022 draft last month, is also absent.
Team Canada will be headlined by Regina Pats forward Connor Bedard, and Mason McTavish and Kent Johnson, who were part of the Olympic men's team that finished sixth at the Beijing Games.
The delayed 2022 tournament is also missing a big competitive threat, with the International Ice Hockey Federation barring Russia from the 10-team competition over the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Unlike previous iterations of the tournament, tickets for the 2022 world juniors are still readily available through Ticketmaster, including about 1,300 for Wednesday's tilt between Canada and Latvia. More than 1,500 seats for the final game of the 11-day tournament are still up grabs, too.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2022.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.