IIHF Shuts Down Russia, Belarus In Wake Of Ukraine Invasion

In the end, will it matter to the people of Ukraine that, on Monday, the International Ice Hockey Federation banished Russia and Belarus from international hockey competition at all levels until further notice?

Will it matter to the hundreds of thousands fleeing their homes and homelands, or the thousands waiting out Russian bombing raids in Ukrainian subway shelters or making Molotov cocktails to defend their land, that the IIHF has taken away the 2023 World Junior Championship, slated to be played in Russia?

We’d like to say, yes, it matters, but the harsh reality is there is no way to answer that question.

But one thing we are certain of is that failing to take such measures would have mattered on many, many levels.

Sure, it would have been nice if the IIHF also stripped Russia of the 2023 Men’s World Championship set for St. Petersburg, although it left the door open for further sanctions in its press release following an emergency meeting of its council on Monday.

In a perfect world, it would have been even more impressive had the IIHF kicked Russia out and/or banned all Russian teams from international competition at any level for five years, a period that would have taken us beyond the next Winter Olympic cycle.

But Monday’s announcement is something, and, for an organization that has struggled at times under a new regime to respond appropriately to controversy, this is good news for anyone who opposes the kinds of lawless actions we’ve seen Russia take in the last week.

Perhaps it’s naïve to think this way, but surely every little bit helps when the world faces this kind of unlawful aggression, whether it’s major shipping companies like UPS and FedEx refusing to ship into Russia, international technology-chip manufacturers halting shipments to Russia or FIFA and EUFA banning Russian participation in top soccer events. The hockey world joining in on the message that Russia is persona non grata may seem small, but it is part of a larger world tapestry that is critical in this moment.

That the hockey community is on board in forcing Russian leaders to confront that they are pariahs on virtually every front, in virtually every country, is not insignificant.

The NHL joined this movement as well, announcing shortly after the IIHF news was released that it would suspend relationships with business partners in Russia and was pausing the NHL’s Russian language and social media sites. Russian locations are also not being considered for any future NHL competitions.

Would it have been more impressive had the NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced Monday that Russia would not be included in the 2024 World Cup of Hockey, whose planning is in its infancy? Again, sure. And it may yet come to pass that Russia is excluded from that event, just as it would be just and proper if the Russians were forbidden to compete in any Olympic competition for the foreseeable future including Milan in 2026

Still, this will sting for Vladimir Putin.

Think of all the images of the Russian president tottering around on his skates at hockey events over the course of his reign. Think of Putin sitting high in the stands during the 2014 Olympics in Sochi reveling in the epic round-robin shootout game with Team USA or, more recently, sitting with old pal and former IIHF head Rene Fasel at the Olympic hockey tournament in Beijing.

Hockey matters to Putin.

It matters to the Russian people.

And now the Russians are cast out. As they should be. The world hockey door has closed to them. As it should have.

Putin is a megalomaniac, so status matters to him. The status of his athletes and especially his hockey players matters to him. And now the game in Russia will be crippled because of his aggression – at least in the short term.

The Kontinental Hockey League has already lost a top team in Finland-based Jokerit, and Dinamo Riga followed suit in leaving the KHL. Non-Russian players will be less likely to come and play in the renegade nation. Expect a mass exodus of those non-Russians currently playing in the KHL.

This was an important moment for new IIHF President Luc Tardif, whose early months on the job have been marked by controversy and missteps.

But the IIHF decision, along with similar responses from soccer and curling and other sports, is also a reminder that the intersections of “reality” and sport can’t and should not be ignored. There is no “Just stick to sports” anymore – if there ever was. The IIHF’s solid response is a reminder that sports can shape change in a meaningful, positive way, whether it’s in confronting a power-mad leader like Putin or in other vital areas like inclusion, confronting racism or inequality or simply educating a segment of the population about important topics like education, mental health or the environment.

And so, even if we can’t see the results of these kinds of actions in the moment, it’s a reminder that hockey has a voice. That voice can and will be heard loud and clear.