Russia and Belarus have been excluded from world hockey for three years, i.e. from the moment of attacking Ukraine on full scale. The Russians do not compete in any sport team. IIHF saw no other option than maintaining the suspension of the Russians by spring 2026. There will be not them in the next two editions of the World Championships.
“One of the arguments of IIHF to prevent our representation to the competition is security. In our opinion, this is not a strong enough argument. Over 50 Russians appear in NHL, Russian swimmers, chess players and representatives of other sports disciplines participate in international games and there are no No incidents with them, “the Russians answered.
An unexpected phrase on Russians
It is possible that this senseless war in Ukraine will end this year. The President of the United States Donald Trump took dialogue with Vladimir Putin. Suddenly the Russians are interested in negotiating peace. Europe is outraged by Trump's actions because it undertook them without informing the European Union and countries supporting Ukraine. Ukraine itself emphasizes that negotiations cannot take place without her knowledge and participation. It is not known what Trump has already been lost.
But the actions of the US president influenced the perception of the case by the NHL authorities, i.e. the largest league hockey world, which seems surprising. Until now, the United States has been hard to exclude the Russians from the world sport.
According to the executive director of the NHL players' Association, Marta Walsh is suddenly in favor of restoring Russia to international competition. He admitted that he wanted to see them at the Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo in 2026 and at the world championships. In the case of the first event, the IOC will make the decision. As for the second – it depends on whether IIHF will extend or endure the suspension. Walsh predicts that the Russians will return to the World Championships in 2028.
– They (Russians – ed.) Are amazing hockey players. Problems are political. This is a world policy that we have to deal with. I hope that as the Olympic Games, the World Championships are approaching, we will start to see Russian athletes at the competition – he said.
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Vladimir Putin can consider a sudden positive attitude to Russian athletes. Walsh's statement was picked up by Russian media, which already use it propaganda.
– Even if four teams would take part in the world championships, the Russian team would have to be among those four. Russian hockey deserves to participate in the world championships and other tournaments. Now the political situation is changing, especially since this tournament will take place under NHL auspices. And maybe we will take part in this tournament I like it very much – said Borys Michajłow, honorary president of CSKA Moscow, quoted by the TASS news agency.
Walsh's narrative is repeated by NHL commissioners, Gary Bettman. – Russia has great hockey traditions, in ours league Excellent Russian players play. We have enough time to deal with the realities of what the situation in the world will look then – he said in an interview with Toronto Sun.
Russia (earlier as the Soviet Union) has a total of 27 hockey title of the world champion.