Hockey Canada trying to ‘salvage’ World Juniors amid scandal, low ticket sales

The World Juniors are run by the International Ice Hockey Federation, which confirmed last week it is now among the growing number of official bodies investigating Hockey Canada.

Amid low tickets sales, a flight of sponsors and a national scandal of sexual assault allegations, Hockey Canada appears to be trying to “salvage” its World Juniors championship, says one expert.

The tournament got underway on Tuesday in Edmonton, Alta., with thousands of tickets still available. It was postponed  late last year as a result of the Omicron variant surge.

In the months since, the national organization has become embroiled in condemnation and controversy over its handling of the allegations. As a result, regional tourism body Explore Edmonton, told Global News, it paused promotion of the tournament in July.

“As the host city for the upcoming tournament, we continue to have discussions with Hockey Canada officials about their plans to address the need for change,” said Traci Bednard, CEO of Explore Edmonton.

For sports culture expert Dan Mason, that’s not a huge surprise.

“Hockey Canada is hurting because they’re lacking sponsorship and the usual promotion that they get. I don’t think it’s necessarily something that they would really want to be doing anyway, given the circumstances that they’re in,” said Mason, a professor of sport management at the University of Alberta.

“I think they’re just trying to salvage this opportunity to have some player development.”

The World Juniors is the international championship for players aged 20 or younger competing for spots on teams run by the national hockey league.