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Some of the best teenage boys hockey players in the world will square off in Edmonton in a few days, but the city’s second attempt to host the world juniors in eight months is proving to be a tough sell.
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Gone is the usual holiday hype for Team Canada, along with anxiety about who made the team and their gold medal chances. Instead, there is an apparent apathy for the action on the ice.
Tickets for all games, including the gold medal decider on August 20, are readily available at both official and resale sites.
A list of reasons for the underwhelming build-up to what is normally a close national holiday begins with the Hockey Canada scandal that has plagued the tournament.
The organization admitted to paying millions of dollars to settle sexual abuse lawsuits, through a special fund created through player registration fees.
Hockey Canada’s board chair steps down
Criminal investigations into allegations of group sexual assault involving members of the 2003 and 2018 Team Canada teams have been renewed. Hockey Canada board chair Michael Brind’Amour told the board on Friday evening that he would resign immediately, Hockey Canada said in a statement Saturday.
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“It’s hard to see. It’s pretty sad,” Team Canada captain Mason McTavish said of the recent revelations.
“It’s a very serious matter going on right now.”
Serious enough that many might reconsider the typical automatic patriotism that the tournament encourages.
“That’s their right,” Team Canada coach Dave Cameron said when asked about fans staying away.
Edmonton Oil Kings captain Jake Neighbors (21) raises the Ed Chynoweth Cup after defeating the Seattle Thunderbirds 2-0 to win the Western Hockey League championship series Monday, June 13, 2022, in Edmonton. Photo by Greg Southam / Postmedia
The August tournament is a restart of the event originally scheduled for Edmonton and Red Deer in the regular time slot of December and January. But the tournament was abandoned amid outbreaks of COVID-19 in several teams that caused three games to be missed.
The revamp also won’t have the star power of the original event, with many prospects focused on the upcoming NHL season instead of injury risk.
That includes Edmonton Oil Kings captain Jake Neighbors as well as local products Dylan Guenther and Team Canada captain Kaiden Guhle.
Their traditional rival, Russia, had their team banned from the event after the invasion of Ukraine.
Whether you’re interested or not, the tournament kicks off on August 9th at noon with Czech Republic vs. Slovakia.
— with archives from The Canadian Press
mblack@postmedia.com