IIHF President says he wants Russia back in the 'hockey family' as soon as possible
The International Ice Hockey Federation's World Men's Championship has wrapped up with Finland winning the gold over Canada in the final. Noticeably absent this year were teams from Russia and Belarus after Russia's decision to invade Ukraine with aid from the Belarussians. However, the current President of the IIHF has stated he wants to end that ban as soon as possible.
"Everyone knows that one day the hockey family will be reunited and I hope it will happen as soon as possible," said Luc Tardif in an interview with Russian media outlet TASS. "But right now the situation is not up to us alone, but we are getting ready. Everyone will be super happy when everything is back on track. I hope it happens soon."
Tardif, who was elected President of the IIHF in 2021 on a campaign to make the organization completely non-political, insisted the ban for the two countries isn't just about punishment for the invasion of Ukraine.
"...you need to take into account the circumstances, and they have changed," Tardif said. "Trust me, it's hard to understand, but now it's about security."
"You have already asked if there is an intention to entirely remove the federations of Russia and Belarus, but I will never do that. We keep contacts so that we are ready to restart and resume full cooperation as soon as possible."
Pavel Bure continues to sit on the IIHF board as a representative of Russian hockey and Tardif said he has no issue with that.
"I want to focus on sports and I don't want there to be protests or political statements at the board meeting," he said.
"But we also talk about the security of our organization, including Russians and Belarussians. I think the conditions right now do not allow us to focus on sports, and I hope the situation will become clearer at the next congress."
Russia was supposed to host this year's World Hockey Championship and next year's World Junior Hockey Championship. Both were pulled and awarded to different countries. While Belarus is a long-time participant in the tournament, it's Russia's absence that is really being felt. Questions regarding the legitimacy of a tournament that does not include one of the best teams in the world have been raised many times.
Source: TASS
| POLL | ||
MAI 30 | 300 ANSWERS IIHF President says he wants Russia back in the 'hockey family' as soon as possible Should Russia be allowed to participate at IIHF tournaments without ending the Ukraine invasion? | ||
| Yes, it's about hockey | 65 | 21.7 % |
| No, there needs to be consequences | 188 | 62.7 % |
| Not sure | 47 | 15.7 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mitch Marner | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Logan Cooley | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Dylan Guenther | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Fraser Minten | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Mikhail Sergachev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Chris Tanev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Tavares | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Simon Benoit | - | - | - | |
| Nick Bjugstad | - | - | - | |
| Michael Carcone | - | - | - | |
| Ian Cole | - | - | - | |
| Lawson Crouse | - | - | - | |
| Connor Dewar | - | - | - | |
| Oliver Ekman-Larsson | - | - | - | |
| Nikita Grebenkin | - | - | - | |
| Barrett Hayton | - | - | - | |
| Pontus Holmberg | - | - | - | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 21 | 17 | 4 | - | 34 | |
Wild | 20 | 13 | 3 | 4 | 30 | |
Devils | 23 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 30 | |
Hurricanes | 20 | 14 | 5 | 1 | 29 | |
Golden Knights | 21 | 13 | 6 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 20 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 27 | |
Flames | 21 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 27 | |
Stars | 19 | 13 | 6 | - | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||