Luc Tardif will be paying close attention to global events in the coming months.
The door could soon open for one of hockey’s powers to rejoin the fold.
President-elect Donald Trump said he plans to return to the White House at the end of this month to work to end Russia’s war in Ukraine.
If that happens, trickle-down effects could include lifting the international ban on competition that has been in place since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022.
“We need to open as soon as possible,” said Tardif, president of the International Ice Hockey Federation.
“It will be interesting to see what happens in the next two months.”
Russia has been suspended from the 2025 World Junior Hockey Championships, which concludes Sunday in Ottawa, as well as other men’s, women’s and para-hockey tournaments.
Tardif said his decision to play next year’s World Juniors in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, is scheduled for production in February.
He added that the IIHF will also press the International Olympic Committee on its response to the 2026 Olympics in Milan and Cortina, Italy, which will see the return of NHL players for the first time in 12 years.
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“The organizers need to know who is playing in order to organize the schedule,” Tardif said at the IIHF closing press conference in Ottawa. “Teams also need to know exactly what their schedule will look like.”
Tardif said having Russia and Belarus banned for their support of the war would be good news for hockey and the world.
“We want them back as quickly as possible,” he said. “This means the war is over.
“(Russia) misses in any competition. But it wouldn’t be good to let it come too early.”
Tardif was also asked about the NHL’s plans for an international schedule outside of IIHF territory with the upcoming Four Nations matchup and the push to host a World Cup every two years starting in 2028.
Tardif added that the NHL has floated the idea of hosting the World Cup in Europe, but that would be difficult with the men’s world championship held each spring.
He also pointed out that the IIHF does not host men’s worlds in North America because it could conflict with the NHL playoffs.
“We want the same respect,” Tardif said. “The commitment to organize events together at the Olympic Games remains. But what we want is partnership, equality in partnership. We made the proposal at the end of December, so now we can start those discussions, and we hope to have the same success as the Olympics.
“But there is still so much to discuss.”
reference standard
Canadian fans and players were upset after their underperforming national team was ousted by world juniors in the quarterfinals for the second year in a row.
The hosts’ performance was marred by undisciplined play, but the referees did the team no favors in their knockout round loss to the Czech Republic, including two questionable penalties for kneeling.
“If you want to apologize, you can,” Tardif said. “I’m not on the ice. I am not a referee and I want to protect referees. Get better and analyze what is good and what is not. Sounds like that player. In many games, sometimes it’s discipline and sometimes it’s bad decisions. Maybe — but that’s human.”
2027 Host City
Hockey Canada has not yet announced the host city for the 2027 World Juniors in Alberta.
The state has hosted two pandemic-impacted tournaments in 2021 and 2022. Calgary is building a new NHL arena, but Scotia Place isn’t expected to be ready until the fall of 2027.
Costello Honors
The IIHF announced that the World Junior MVP Trophy has been renamed the Murray Costello Award.
Costello, who led the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and Hockey Canada as president for 20 years, died in July at the age of 90.
© 2025 The Canadian Press
