Finland, USA coaches blast “poorly run tournament” as reason for World Junior cancellation

If we didn’t see this coming, we sure should have.

What happens when you combine the biggest stage of the IIHF season, the IIHF, Canadian quarantine requirements, and a totally disorganized tournament?

The answer is, no World Juniors.

For the first time since their inception in 1977, the World Juniors have been cancelled. Late today, the IIHF said they might take place after the World Championships (which are in May) or in summer (which would also be after May), but nobody is too hopeful.

The reality is, this was a disaster from the start.

Four days before, the Alberta government dropped a bombshell when they limited crowds to 50% of capacity and took the draconian step of closing all concessions.

Yes, they expected people to sit there for six hours (two games a day) without as much as a glass of water. No wonder most opted for refunds. The tournament went from being 90% sold out to drawing no crowd as high as 5,000 - in arenas that seat 18,000 and 7,000. 

Not convinced? Listen to the words of Finnish coach Antti Pennanen, speaking to Finnish Newspaper Ilta Sanomat.

“I am angry because this was not a COVID problem, but the problem was that this was a poorly run tournament…..This says a lot about the state of the IIHF,” Pennanen told the Sanomat. 

USA coach Nate Leaman responded with a simple tweet: “100 percent.”

How bad was it? Despite talk of bubbling the players away from the arena and requiring players to be in Canada by Dec. 15 in order to quarantine before the tournament, it seems once the tournament started, organizers went a different direction.

Via Twitter Wednesday, Chris Peters of Hockey Sense and Daily Faceoff said, “Team officials have stated that their players are being extremely cautious, staying in their rooms, obeying all protocols and yet this still keeps happening. I’m told there is a wedding reception planned for the hotel USA and Sweden are staying in tonight. What else can they try to do?”

Corey Pronman of The Athletic replied via Twitter, stating, “One staff member on a European team in same hotel as USA in Red Deer calls the current Covid protocols and lack of isolations from the community “ridiculous,” saying they’ve come into contact with said wedding guests.”

Seriously? A wedding reception? They’re trying to pull off a major international hockey tournament, one that profits in the tens of millions most years when Canada hosts it, and they’re too cheap to rent out the entire hotel?

Shame. Shame on the IIHF for letting this happen. Shame on Hockey Canada for letting this happen. Shame on tournament organizers for letting this happen.

And now, a once in a lifetime chance for many players is gone. It’s hard to explain how big the World Juniors are unless you’ve been there, you’ve lived it. Bigger than the Stanley Cup? By far, having been to both three times. And the TV ratings are higher in most countries too. In Canada, the World Junior gold medal game, if it features Canada, outdraws the Stanley Cup by a significant margin most years. In Sweden and Finland, it can draw near total viewership from the country when their teams play.

This is big.

Canceling this is a result of a poorly run tournament, and a situation many of us saw coming from months ago. Is it a surprise? The only surprise to me is any games got played at all.

Would it have gone better had it been moved to a country with less restrictions, such as the US, Sweden, or Russia? In my opinion, yes. But we’ll never know.

Just like we’ll never know who would have won the tournament.

In the meantime, enjoy it, USA. Still the defending champions!

Fantilli, Bedard in tight race for 2023 first overall pick, was Fantilli slighted by Team Canada?

For the past two years, it has been a foregone conclusion WHL Regina Pats’ phenom Connor Bedard will go first in the 2023 NHL Draft. There’s no question the 5’9” forward has skill to spare, causing one observer to say he is “ten times better than (Sidney) Crosby at the same age.”

But Adam Fantilli of the USHL Chicago Steel is turning it into a race.

So far this season, Fantilli has outscored Bedard in what is traditionally a lower scoring league, posted a better plus-minus, and has shown more aptitude for the physical play. And at 6’2”, 190 lbs., he provides a far more intimidating presence than the much smaller Bedard.

While Regina sits ninth in their conference with a 11-15-0-0 record, which would put them on the outside looking in come playoff time, Fantilli’s Steel sit atop the USHL overall standings with a dominating 17-4-4-0 record.

It’s unfortunate we won’t get a look at the two head-to-head in this year’s World Juniors, as Canada has chosen to invite Bedard but not Fantilli (who hails from Ontario) to the selection camp, but the story of the 2023 World Juniors in Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia, will almost certainly be these two dynamic players on the same team. 

Is Fantilli’s omission a slight against him or the USHL? Well, that’s up for debate. The facts are this - the USHL has had more draft picks than any of the three CHL (WHL, OHL, QMJHL) leagues the past two years, the USHL tends to be lower scoring, and Fantilli has better numbers.

Regardless, Fantilli will keep racking up the points for the Steel, whether or not he is noticed by Hockey Canada. In fact, it’s hard to remember a USHL player lacing up for Team Canada while playing in the USHL, so it’s not a surprise that he is not invited  

The question is, if Canada fails to win gold playing on home ice for the second consecutive season - with USA knocking off the hosts last year and expected to ice perhaps even a stronger squad this year - will there be any questioning in the Canadian media if Fantilli would have been the difference? Or does the Toronto-based hockey media even know he, or the USHL, exist?