Hockey Takes Center Stage In Growing Geopolitical Conflict With Russia

Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Norway, Denmark, and Latvia. Those are the nations who have already stated they will not take to the ice against Russia as long as Russia is engaged in their war on Ukraine. 

It's a growing geopolitical situation with hockey at the centre. With international competitions slated to begin in December and January including the IIHF men's World Juniors in Canada and women's U-18 World Championships in Czechia, the situation is rapidly progressing.

First out of the gate in their stance against Russia was Finland, ranked 4th globally in men's hockey and 5th in women's hockey.

"We are currently gathering as many countries as possible to form a common front to tell the IIHF that none of us will play against Russia in this situation," said Heikki Hietanen, chairman of the Finnish Ice Hockey Association in a translated statement. "This weighs significantly more heavily in the balance than the fact that we only announce the matter on our own behalf."

"Our line is that we will not play against Russia as long as the war of aggression against Ukraine continues."

They were followed by Czechia (3rd women, 6th men) and Sweden (6th women, 5th men) as global powers in ice hockey to state they will not face Russia in upcoming international competitions.

"The Swedish line was and is crystal clear: Sweden will not play ice hockey matches against Russia in the situation we are in right now," the Swedish federation wrote in a translated statement.

"Czech hockey is joining the position of other European hockey federations that have announced that their national teams will not play in matches against Russia," Czechia's federation added in their own translated statement.

While nations across Europe are joining the fight in solidarity against Russia, others have remained silent. For Hockey Canada, their decision on how to proceed could have monumental geopolitical implications as Canada moves closer to involvement with the European Union. It's the first test for Canada as a nation to stand in solidarity with European nations, or to take the side of nations such as the United States who have remained silent regarding Russia's involvement in IIHF competition.

Nations stating that they will not play Russia in international competition does not mean these nations will not be competing internationally, rather that they will not face Russia in those events. It presents further logistical challenges for the IIHF in looking forward to how they will manage tournaments at all levels of men's and women's hockey in the coming months.

Denmark made specific mention of the 2027 men's World Championships in Germany in their statement. 

"Denmark will – based on the current situation and the knowledge we have today – not play against Russia at the World Championship in Germany in May 2027. Denmark's other matches in the tournament will be played as planned. The decision has been communicated to the IIHF," the Federation wrote in a translated comment.

"Our position remains unchanged. Nothing has happened that changes the basis for keeping Russia out of international ice hockey as long as the war in Ukraine continues. The decision is about safety and security for ourselves and for all our partners – players, managers and their families, fans and sponsors."

The position has not only come from national federations. The World Championships have already lost sponsors over the reinstatement of Russia as well.

That includes Swedish furniture company AJ Products that has sponsored the IIHF World Championships for 37 years.

"We have taken the decision that AJ will not have ​its logo connected with the IIHF men's championships next year, now that Russia is allowed to compete again," AJ Products' CEO David ​Bray told Reuters.

"We have had a long partnership with ​the IIHF for 37 years, so we made this decision after the court ‌ruling ⁠on Friday. In a lot of businesses there are tough decisions, but this one was very easy to take."

Nations among the top ranked in the world that have yet to release any statement regarding Russia's reinstatement to IIHF competition include USA, Germany, Slovakia, Switzerland, France, Austria, Hungary, and Japan.

It's possible some nations may use other means to keep Russian teams out of competitions including not providing visas to athletes from Russian teams. This had previously been the position of nations such as Canada and Czechia, whose stances on the matter will now be put to the test.