The Hockey World Cup 2021 will probably be without NHL players. The problem is in Belarus with security, is there a threat of a boycott?
Czech hockey
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“The IIHF sees this problem. Only the IIHF, which consists of over 70 countries, decides on the allocation of the World Cup and can also decide on its withdrawal, “said Urban at a video conference on Thursday dedicated to the nomination of the Czech national team for the Karjala tournament.
He himself believes that countries should remain open to hockey and sport in general. According to Urban, it is sports that can help them. “Let’s remember that we also held the World Cup before the revolutionary year of 1989, and maybe it was these events that helped the internal movement to restore a just order in the country,” says the Secretary General of Czech Hockey.
We will not be blackmailed! the IIHF responds to pressures to postpone the next World Cup
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However, he realizes that ensuring the safety of all participants is the most important criterion for hosting the championship in Belarus. “If the situation in Belarus is dangerous, it would be a big problem to hold a World Cup in this country.”
The Russian nomination is a degradation of the entire tournament and the Euro Hockey Tour series, says Filip Pešán
Czech hockey
Urban does not rule out that in the event of leaving the tournament to Minsk, which already hosted the World Hockey Championships in 2004, a boycott of the championship may come from some participating countries. “It is being addressed at the international level. A boycott of individual countries is possible, no one can rule it out. It is primarily a problem of the IIHF management, which informs us and consults with us, “Urban said, adding that the last IIHF video conference on this topic took place ten days ago and more will follow.
As early as August, Latvian Prime Minister Krišjánis Kariňš stated that he could not imagine holding a joint world championship in the current political situation in Belarus. And he called on the IIHF to look for other solutions. The chief coach of the Swedes Johan Garpenlöv, for example, has now let it be heard that the selection of the Three Crowns should not play in Belarus. However, as an employee of the Swedish Hockey Association, he will respect his decision.
Pešán’s era at the national team begins! What does a Karjal nomination look like?
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“We perceive the problems that both organizers have between each other. However, I would like to make one comment. The World Cup was allocated to those countries that requested it four or five years ago, and everything was fine. Of course, the situation is evolving and today it is a little different. But it is a question for the IIHF leadership, “says Urban.
Whatever event the host MS eventually hosts in the end, Urban already seems inevitable to play in a bubble because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Everyone will be in a hockey bubble at the Karjala tournament. Teams are waiting for three tests on the covid-19
Czech hockey
“In March, we thought it would be better in a few months. Then we thought it would be better sometime in February. So no one knows what it will look like next May. But if the World Cup were to take place, I think that in terms of the danger of a covid-19 pandemic, it will have to be in a similar bubble as in the NHL playoffs, “Urban mentions this year’s Stanley Cup battles in Edmonton and Toronto under strict hygiene and epidemiological conditions.
However, it will probably not be the players from overseas that the next World Cup will concern. Not only Urban thinks so, but also the coach of the Czech national team Filip Pešán and its general manager Petr Nedvěd. The new year of the NHL is to start in January 2021 at the earliest, and the farm AHL even in February.
“We would all really like the participation of NHL players, especially fans. At the moment, however, we do not see it in reality, “Nedvěd shrugs.
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