Numerous international media outlets are reporting that the International Ice Hockey Federation has made the decision to ban Russian teams from competing in the men’s and women’s ice hockey tournaments at the Olympic Winter Games next February in Milan, Italy. The decision was reportedly made at Friday’s annual congress in Stockholm, Sweden. Multiple sources have cited an initial report from Latvian media outlet SportaCentrs [https://sportacentrs.com/hokejs/izlases/23052025-saprata_balss_gust_virsroku_milanas_os_ho]. The IIHF has not yet publicly confirmed the news. If confirmed, the groups for the men’s tournament, which runs from Feb. 11 to 22, will be: Group A: Canada, Switzerland, Czechia, France Group B: Finland, Sweden, Slovakia, Italy Group C: United States, Germany, Latvia, Denmark The groups for the women’s tournament, which runs from Feb. 5 to 19, will be: Group A: Canada, United States, Finland, Czechia, Switzerland Group B: Gemany, Sweden, Japan, Italy, France Latvia, Denmark, Slovakia (and maybe France) qualify for 2026 Olympics [https://images.saymedia-content.com/.image/MjA2MzMyNzQ1MjEzODE0NDc4/usatsi_7753715.jpg] Latvia, Denmark, Slovakia (and maybe France) qualify for 2026 Olympics Three teams qualified for the men’s ice hockey tournament at the 2026 Winter Olympics on Sunday by winning de facto play-in games on the last day of the final qualifying tournament. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/latvia-denmark-slovakia-and-maybe-france-qualify-for-2026-olympics] In both cases, France takes the place of Russia, although the groups would have been different, based on the IIHF World Rankings. France was the highest-ranked second-place team in the final round of qualifying for men [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/latvia-denmark-slovakia-and-maybe-france-qualify-for-2026-olympics] and women. Russian teams last competed in an IIHF-sanctioned event at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, where both the men’s and women’s teams were called "Russian Olympic Committee" for sanctioning reasons. Photo: Russian players wearing "ROC" jerseys at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing © George Walker IV-Imagn Images Dominik Hašek Accuses High-Ranking Russian Politician Of Threatening His Life [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/091e1d17-ecb0-4263-98a6-2c4904d87d60.jpeg] Dominik Hašek Accuses High-Ranking Russian Politician Of Threatening His Life Czech hall-of-fame goaltender Dominik Hašek has never been one to hide his opinions and has been relentless over the past few years in his condemnation of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and those who support it – explicitly or implicitly – and influential Russian politicians have apparently taken notice. [https://thehockeynews.com/international/latest-news/dominik-haek-accuses-high-ranking-russian-politician-of-threatening-his-life]
