No fans in stands at 2021 world juniors

Edmonton, currently hosting the Stanley Cup playoffs without fans in a COVID-19-free bubble zone, will now do the same for the world junior championship.

The International Ice Hockey Federation confirmed Thursday it has accepted a Hockey Canada pitch to have Rogers Place in the city’s downtown host the event, without fans in attendance.

“There is still much work to do. We’re not there yet, and with a number of (health) compliance components to this, we have work in front of us,” Tom Renney, head of Hockey Canada, told reporters on a conference call.

Originally, Edmonton and Red Deer were to host the event starting Dec. 26 and ending Jan. 5, 2021. Edmonton will now host all the games.

The plan is to still end on Jan. 5, 2021. But with all games now being played on one ice surface in Rogers Place, organizers say they may start the tournament before Boxing Day.

The event will return to Edmonton and Red Deer — with the hope of having fans — in 2022.

Rogers Place currently is hosting the final two rounds of the NHL’s Stanley Cup playoffs.

Edmonton and Toronto served as co-hosts for the entire NHL post-season. Players have been kept isolated between games, and after more than seven weeks the NHL has reported no positive COVID-19 cases.

Rogers Place is linked to a hotel and has a practice facility under the same roof as the main rink.

“This is a tough decision to have to take, but ultimately we did not have a choice,” Rene Fasel, the head of the IIHF, said in a statement.

“The health and safety of players, officials, and fans is our top priority.

“We were impressed with the presentation from the local organizing committee outlining how a potential bubble scenario would operate within Edmonton, and we are confident that we can follow the NHL’s great example in creating a safe environment for teams to compete.”

Gothenburg, Sweden was slated to host the event next year but will now do so in 2024. Novosibirsk, Russia, will host the 2023 event.

Also Thursday, the IIHF announced it will cancel all lower division tournaments in the men’s U-20 category. The 2021 U-18 women’s world championship will also be cancelled together with all other tournaments in the women’s U-18 category.

Red Deer will miss out, but both cities get chance again in 2022