Will NHL Teams Send Top Prospects to Summer WJC? Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MTg3NzQwOTA0NDU3NTEyODQ3/02_20211218_rus_cze_kuz_5.jpg] The impact of Russia's unprovoked military attack against Ukraine last week continues to be felt in the sporting world. Russia faced yet another round of sanctions from neighboring nations on Monday morning, with reports indicating that Sweden, Finland, and Czechia have mutually agreed to not extend Russia an invite to the Euro Hockey Tour for the time being. That means Russia will not participate in the upcoming Beijer Hockey Games in Sweden in early May, used as a pre-cursor to the men's World Championship. The Euro Hockey Tour is a series of mid-season tournaments attended by the nations listed above. The tour is not held under the IIHF banner, meaning that host nations have the ability to decline invites to whichever entities they choose without seeking IIHF approval. This news comes shortly after a series of reports surfaced on Monday morning that all seem to indicate that the IIHF will move to strip Russia of its membership as early as this afternoon in response to the nation's unlawful attack against Ukraine. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Earlier on Monday, the International Olympic Committee executive board released a statement as well, urging other sports organizations around the world to exclude Russian athletes and teams from participating in international play. Russia's exclusion from the Euro Hockey Tour, then, seems to be an extension of that. Russian hockey has been feeling the consequences of its nation's actions for the past few days on home soil too, with the KHL seeing the Jokerit Helsinki organization end its season prematurely on Friday prior to the Gagarin Cup playoffs, while Dynamo Riga withdrew from the league entirely the day after.
