The 2022 IIHF World Junior tournament was postponed after just a few games because of a COVID-19 outbreak, but that doesn’t mean it was canceled altogether. The event will happen this summer, and Hockey Canada today announced that it will officially be held in Edmonton, Alberta from August 9-20. It won’t be the only hockey tournament in the province though, as the Hlinka-Gretzky Cup will take place in Red Deer between July 31-August 6.
Scott Smith, president of Hockey Canada, released the following statement:
While we were disappointed to have not been able to complete the 2022 IIHF World Junior Championship as intended in December, our focus quickly shifted to hosting the event again when it was safe to do so. Now, fans will be able to cheer on Team Canada at the World Juniors in Edmonton and at the Hlinka Gretzky Cup in Red Deer.
The World Juniors will have an interesting twist this summer. Players born in 2002 that were originally eligible for the tournament in December will still be able to participate, even if they have aged out in the months since. That means a player like Cole Perfetti, born on January 1, 2002, would still actually be able to take part if he and the Winnipeg Jets decide to do so. Perfetti of course is dealing with an upper-body injury and is by no means a sure thing for the tournament, but his eligibility could mean the event has an incredibly deep and talented pool of players to select from.
It also could swing the other way though, with many younger players having more prominent roles. Given its placement in August, names like Owen Power or Matty Beniers may decide not to attend, instead focusing on their upcoming rookie seasons in the NHL. Both players were set to log huge minutes at the event in December, but after making their NHL debuts and even suiting up at the Olympics, it does seem a bit of a risk to go back to compete at a junior tournament so close to training camp.
The Hlinka-Gretzky, meanwhile, will return as a premier U18 scouting event that could have plenty of talent as well. Both Connor Bedard and Adam Fantilli were among the players named to Canada’s U18 World Championship team and could be headed for the Red Deer tournament as well later this summer, after Hockey Canada decided not to attend in 2021. Matvei Michkov, who led the Russian team to gold at last year’s event with 13 points in eight games, could also return, given he won’t turn 18 until December 2022.