The IIHF has agreed in principle to a new set of dates for the 2021 Women’s World Championship, which will now be scheduled to take place between August 20-31. The event was originally supposed to start next week in Halifax, but was canceled just as players were set to arrive for their quarantine period. The venue for the rescheduled tournament is still to be determined, but several locales have expressed interest in hosting. The dates announced are obviously much later than anticipated, but IIHF president Rene Fasel explained:
The players, the teams, Hockey Canada, and the IIHF have been placed in a difficult position due to the sudden cancellation. But this is not an excuse to operate this tournament as a half-measure. We needed a range of dates that can work for the teams and also would allow for comprehensive broadcast coverage as well as a chance for spectators to be able to attend the games.
The tournament also needed to be over well before Olympic qualification begins in November and other leagues around the world start up. The IIHF is working with Hockey Canada to evaluate potential venues and expects to make a choice in the coming weeks.
- While the women’s worlds look for a new venue, management teams are starting to prepare for the upcoming men’s tournament which is set to begin in just under three weeks. Bruce Garrioch of Postmedia reports that Josh Norris of the Ottawa Senators has been contacted by Team USA as a candidate to take part and he is “definitely interested.” The 21-year-old center has blossomed into quite the player this season for the Senators, scoring 15 goals and 32 points in his rookie season. Originally selected by the San Jose Sharks in 2017, he came to Ottawa as part of the Erik Karlsson deal and is on a path to stardom with the Senators.
- The Columbus Blue Jackets may not have much left to play for this season, but don’t tell Emil Bemstrom. The 21-year-old forward has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and doesn’t have a single goal, but was activated today from injured reserve. Bemstrom was a strong performer for the team a year ago and would be a nice late-season story if he can get going in the final few games.
Would be nice if Team USA could take that whole Tkachuk/Norris/Batherson line with them to the Worlds. Quite the line the Sens have there.
@Gbear – Watching their game the other day on NHL.com, I have to agree wholeheartedly there. That line looked impressive and OTT looked like they were just toying with the Canucks, for most of the game, at least. Of course, VAN is still a mess, coming off of their battle with COVID, but OTT is showing some positives against some of their division opponents. I get the sense that most of the kids seem to have pretty good chemistry, which bodes well for their future. Now, would it be too much for us to ask to have the games streamed on the interweb? Last time, we were geoblocked, but I had a fix for that nuisance.
@Mac – And which considering you can’t attend the game in person, you’d think they’d relax the black out rules just a bit.
But the Sens have a bright future ahead of them. I argued with people that Tkachuk should’ve been the #1 pick in his draft year and it looks like that might turn out to right afterall.
@Gbear – If you have blackout issues watching games online, VPN access may be the answer. I’ve used it on NHL.com and the IIHF World’s with success. All I have to do is go to the VPN site for this week’s password, and I’m good to go. Can’t promise it will work everywhere, but it is working for me so far. And both Brady & Matt are proving every game that they truly are “A Chip off the Old Walt!”
@Mac – To be honest, my viewership is on the wane with this league. More interested in the WJC type tournaments these days.
Interesting to hear NHL radio talking about cities that could host NHL teams but will likely never get one due to the 32 teams already in the league. Would be a nice opportunity for a new league (WHA reborn?!) to tap those markets. Saskatoon, Hamilton and Quebec City in Canada and Houston, Kansas City and Milwaukee would be a nice “original 6” to start with. :)
@Gbear – I definitely understand your frustration there. Love the WHA reborn idea, too! Wish there was a boatload of money trees to help create and propagate that. A chance to do it right the second time, since the first time has almost ended up in the ditch.
Isn’t batherson Canadian ? Norris actually is a dual citizen as well
@Bruce57 – Batherson’s from Indiana, Tkachuck from STL by way of AZ, and Norris is from Michigan.
There isn’t enough population for many of those cities. Saskatoon, or Quebec City won’t happen.
Hamilton can, but I suspect Maple Leafs politics played a roll in quashing a previous attempt to get a team in that region.
Milwaukee is too close to Chicago.
I could seen Kansas City. The Kansas and Missouri fans could argue who owns the team as an internal rivalry.
Houston has the numbers, but is there the interest? As many warmer climate teams have shown it’s hard to fill the stands for a winter sport in a hot climate. The NHL gains a lot of revenue from ticket sales.
@Gbear – There isn’t enough population for many of those cities. Saskatoon, or Quebec City won’t happen.
Hamilton can, but I suspect Maple Leafs politics played a roll in quashing a previous attempt to get a team in that region.
Milwaukee lacks the population and is close to Chicago.
I could seen Kansas City. The Kansas and Missouri fans could argue who owns the team as an internal rivalry :D :D
Houston has the numbers, but is there the interest? As many warmer climate teams have shown it’s hard to fill the stands for a winter sport in a hot climate. The NHL gains a lot of revenue from ticket sales.