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By Josh Hall (Twitter: @Vancan19)

need to be "nimble"

Hockey Canada, Westerner, comment on Red Deer’s exclusion from World Juniors reboot

Mar 25, 2022 | 1:01 PM

The 2022 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championship is returning this August, but not to Red Deer.

rdnewsNOW reported last Sunday that Red Deer wouldn’t be part of the rebooted 2022 edition, which will be hosted solely by Edmonton.

Red Deer and Edmonton were originally supposed to co-host both the 2021 and 2022 tournaments.

The 2021 tournament was held in a bubble environment in both cities, with no fans in attendance. This past December saw the 2022 edition also played with no fans, that is until it was scrapped entirely midway through the group round, as COVID-19 outbreaks forced organizers’ hands.

Hockey Canada responded to rdnewsNOW’s request for more information late Thursday, explaining the decision to not have games in Red Deer.

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“The decision to move solely to Edmonton was a move to ensure that if stricter protocols were needed on the eve of the event, we would be more nimble to deliver and protect the event and the players,” says Esther Madziya, Hockey Canada communications manager. “Additionally, with other hockey events planned for this summer in Alberta, Hockey Canada was able to work with multiple communities to bring events across the province. Further details will be announced in the coming weeks.”

One such event already known is the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup, for now slated to be held in Red Deer and Edmonton in early August, prior to the World Juniors.

Mayor Ken Johnston lamented over the weekend what the loss of World Juniors co-hosting duties will mean to not just hockey fans, but also local restaurants and hotels.

Johnston said Red Deer would be ready the next time Hockey Canada or another large sporting event beckons.

But one other party that will lose out is Westerner Park, which only last year got back on its own two feet again financially.

CEO Mike Olesen says Westerner Park will miss out on millions of dollar due to not hosting, but clarifies that the organization didn’t lose any money from hosting a few fanless games in December.

“Hockey Canada, who’s been really good about keeping us in the loop, was certainly never commital that the World Juniors would be back in Red Deer. They were honest that there was a good chance it’d be back only in Edmonton,” says Olesen, who admits he had a pretty good idea about three weeks ahead of time what the verdict would be.

“It’s definitely difficult. Given our purpose of running and hosting events, this is certainly challenging and frustrating. It does hurt our bottom line, plus you’re trying to keep fans happy, who already had it taken away twice.”

Olesen emphasized that Westerner Park understands Hockey Canada’s position.

“We get their desire to just make sure the level of complexity is minimized,” he says. “Given the event is happening in the summer, it maybe loses some of its panache, because it’s typically a Christmas and New Year’s thing, and is steeped in tradition. But it is a loss, for the restaurants and hotels too, to not have it here.”

The 2022 World Juniors will feature 10 teams, with Russia no longer taking part. Belarus, who would’ve been Russia’s replacement, is also barred from competing due to its role in aiding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In their place, Latvia will take part, and there will be no relegation.

Group stage records from games played in December will be reset.

READ MORE

IIHF: Red Deer won’t co-host 2022 World Juniors this August

World Juniors returning to Alberta this August