The tournament was originally scheduled to be held from December 26, 2021, through January 5, 2022, in Edmonton and Red Deer — the host cities originally awarded the 2022 tournament before it was moved into a "bubble" behind closed doors in Edmonton due to the COVID-19 pandemic. After COVID-19 outbreaks on multiple teams, the tournament was cancelled by the IIHF on December 29, 2021. In February 2022, it was announced that the tournament would be replayed from scratch at a later date, with all statistics and results from the first playing being thrown out. Once again, the tournament was held exclusively in Edmonton.
This marked the 17th time that Canada hosted the WJIHC. Due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia was suspended from international ice hockey and replaced by Latvia (which was promoted to the tournament's top division after finishing second in the Division I-A tournament in December 2021). The country notably achieved its first-ever victory in a preliminary game.[5] In the gold medal game, Canada beat Finland 3–2 in overtime to win its 19th tournament title.
Background
Preparations
On March 14, 2019, it was announced that Gothenburg would be the host city.[6] It was to be the first time that Gothenburg has hosted the tournament (having previously hosted the Senior Ice Hockey World Championships twice in 1981 and 2002), and the seventh time that Sweden had hosted the tournament.
On September 17, 2020, the IIHF announced that the 2022 tournament would instead be hosted by Edmonton and Red Deer, Alberta as compensation for the 2021 tournament (which was originally to be hosted by both cities) being held behind closed doors exclusively in Edmonton due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It became the 15th time that Canada has hosted the tournament, the fourth time Edmonton has hosted the tournament, and the second time games have been hosted in Red Deer, following the 1995 edition. Gothenburg was re-assigned the 2024 tournament.[7][8]
On December 18, 2021, citing the "changing epidemiological situation" involving COVID-19 and Omicron variant, and consultation with the IIHF and Alberta Health Services, Hockey Canada announced that the schedule of pre-tournament games (which was to feature each team playing at least two exhibition games) would be reduced, and moved to December 23.[9] Organizers stated that their goal was to hold a "safe and successful event," and that 90% of tickets had been sold.[10] There were no stated plans to reduce spectator capacity.[10]
As a participant in the provincial "Restrictions Exemption Program" (REP), Rogers Place could operate at full capacity under Alberta provincial public health orders, but was required to enforce proof of COVID-19 vaccinations.[11] On December 21, as part of public health orders to control Omicron variant, the Alberta government ordered all large venues participating in REP to restrict their capacity to 50% effective December 24. Food and drink consumption was prohibited when seated and during intermissions.[12][13]
Cancellation and rescheduling of tournament due to COVID-19
Teams were required to quarantine if any one member tested positive for COVID-19, resulting in three games being forfeited by December 29.[14][15][16] Citing the health and safety of participants, and that the competitive integrity of the tournament had been compromised by the aforementioned forfeits, the IIHF announced that the remainder of the tournament had been abandoned.[14][17] However, IIHF president Luc Tardif stated during a press conference that a committee would meet in January to discuss the feasibility of resuming the tournament at a later date, and that "we want to take the next month to think about it and maybe come with a good surprise."[18][19]
On February 17, 2022, Tardif announced that the tournament would be rescheduled to mid-August 2022, following the U18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The tournament would be replayed from the beginning, with all results and statistics from the first attempt thrown out. Rosters from the first playing of the tournament were grandfathered.[20] The following month, it was announced that the tournament replay had been scheduled for August 9–20, 2022, and that it would be hosted exclusively by Edmonton for the second year in a row. Those who had purchased tickets for the first running of the 2022 tournament, or the 2021 tournament, were given priority access to tickets.[21] With Edmonton focusing on the rescheduled tournament, the 2022 Hlinka Gretzky Cup was hosted exclusively by Red Deer.[22]
In condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia was suspended from international ice hockey by the IIHF. It was announced that Latvia—who were promoted to the top division for 2023 after finishing second in the Division I-A tournament—would replace Russia for the tournament replay. Division I-A winner Belarus was also banned from international ice hockey for their support of the invasion.[23]
Sponsorship withdrawals and low attendance
Due to the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal that emerged in June 2022, a number of major entities suspended their sponsorships and support of Hockey Canada, including BDO, Canadian Tire, Imperial Oil, Recipe Unlimited, Scotiabank, Telus, and Tim Hortons.[24][25][26] The city of Edmonton withdrew their marketing for the tournament.[27]Sportsnet writer Paul D. Grant suggested that sponsors may had also been given the option to receive refunds on sponsorship purchases they had made for the December 2021 running of the tournament after it was cancelled.[28] Besides a placement for IIHF global sponsor Tissot, there were no in-arena sponsor placements during the tournament, with the boards otherwise containing only images of the tournament emblem and ads for the IIHF's official mobile app.[29][28]
On the eve of the tournament, it was also reported that "thousands" of tickets were still unsold, including tickets for games involving Canada—which had typically been a major draw during editions of the tournament hosted by Canada. The summer scheduling of the tournament, high ticket prices, the Hockey Canada scandals, and the removal of Russia, were cited by the press as potential factors.[29][28] The first day of the tournament saw minuscule crowds, with its first three games having an announced attendance of 430, 376, and 829 respectively. However, this was based on tickets sold, and the actual number of spectators in attendance was believed to be much lower.[28][30] Canada's games had moderate levels of attendance, ranging from 2,779 for its first preliminary game, to 5,204 for its final preliminary game—a fraction of Rogers Place's hockey capacity of 18,500.[31] The gold medal game had an official attendance of 13,327.[32]
TOI = Time on ice (minutes:seconds); GA = Goals against; GAA = Goals against average; SA = Shots against; Sv% = Save percentage; SO = Shutouts Source: IIHF.com
Source: IIHF Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament. (H) Host Notes:
^Belarus were suspended from all IIHF competitions in May 2022 due to IIHF ban
^Latvia were promoted to "replace" Russia in the Top Division after the latter were also suspended from all IIHF competitions
Group B
The Division I Group B tournament was played in Tallinn, Estonia, from December 12 to 18, 2021.[39][40]
Source: IIHF Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament. (H) Host
Source: IIHF Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament. (H) Host Notes:
The Division II Group B tournament would have been held in Belgrade, Serbia, from January 10 to 16, 2022, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was rescheduled and took place from September 12 to 17, 2022.[43][44][45]
Source: IIHF Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) result against closest best-ranked team outside tied teams; 6) result against second-best ranked team outside tied teams; 7) seeding before tournament. (H) Host
The tournament would have been held in Querétaro, Mexico, from January 6 to 16, 2022, but it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[46] It was rescheduled and took place from July 22 to 30, 2022.[43][47][48] Bulgaria withdrew from the July tournament and was replaced by Australia, which originally opted out of the January tournament.
