IIHF president wants Russia back in hockey fold ‘as soon as possible’

IIHF president Luc Tardif said having Russia and Belarus, which was also banned due to its support for the war in Ukraine, would be good news for hockey and the world.

Luc Tardif will be paying close attention to global events over the next few months.

The door for one of hockey’s powers to rejoin the fold could soon swing open.

U.S. president-elect Donald Trump has indicated he plans to work to end Russia’s war in Ukraine when he returns to the White House later this month.

If that happens, the trickle-down effect could include a lifting of Russia’s ban from international competition that’s been in place since the country invaded its neighbour in February 2022

“We have to let the door open as soon as possible,” Tardif, the president of the International Ice Hockey Federation, said Sunday.

Russia has been frozen out of the world junior hockey championship — the 2025 event concluded Sunday in Ottawa — along with other men’s, women’s and para hockey tournaments.

Tardif said a decision on the field for next year’s world juniors in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn., will be made in February.

He added the IIHF will also press the International Olympic Committee on an answer for the 2026 Games in Milan and Cortina, Italy, that will see NHL players return after a 12-year absence.