The key facts

  • The IIHF has included Russia in the preliminary schedule of the 2027 World Junior Championship, replacing Norway, which has been moved to Division IA
  • The Swiss national team announced it would refuse to play the game against the Russians on December 27, but not to withdraw from the tournament
  • The tournament will run from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027 in Edmonton and Red Deer; the Canadian Prime Minister had stated that the Russians would not compete

Russia returns to the tournament calendar

The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) has included the Russian junior national team in the preliminary schedule of the 2027 World Championship, replacing the Norwegian team with it. This is reported on the website of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation (SIHF), as cited by Life.ru and Gazeta.Ru. The Russians will take tenth place in the participants' ranking and play in Group B, while Norway will be moved down to Division IA. Russia's first opponent is Switzerland — the game is scheduled for December 27.

Reaction from Switzerland and other federations

The Swiss federation has already stated that its players will not take the ice against the Russians, but the team does not intend to withdraw from the championship. This is not the only negative reaction: earlier, the French Ice Hockey Federation expressed regret over the decision to admit the Russians, as Gazeta.Ru notes. In addition, according to Life.ru, the German Ice Hockey Federation had considered withdrawing from hosting the 2027 men's World Championship in Düsseldorf and Mannheim, demanding first to find out how the IIHF intended to comply with the court's ruling.

What lies behind the changes and what remains unclear

The calendar adjustment followed a ruling by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on October 30, which fully upheld the appeal of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation and overturned the IIHF's decision to suspend it. The IIHF has begun implementing the ruling and has sent the revised calendar to national associations. However, the team's actual participation remains in question: the tournament will run from December 26, 2026 to January 5, 2027 in Edmonton and Red Deer, Canada, and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney previously stated that Russian athletes would not be able to compete in the tournament. Thus, inclusion in the schedule so far reflects the CAS legal ruling but does not guarantee that the team will take the ice — the position of the host country and the reaction of individual federations remain unresolved factors.