Dec 24: The IIHF has made it official, canceling six tournaments for January. President Luc Tardif released the following statement:
These are hard facts to have to face, and as with last year we must take the difficult decision to cancel men’s and women’s IIHF events, including the women’s U18 top division now for the second year in a row.
It is the consensus of the IIHF Medical Committee that the organizers would not have the capability to manage an outbreak of the virus, especially with the rapid transfer of the Omicron variant that we have seen in the NHL and other leagues.
Dec 23: ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reported today that the International Ice Hockey Federation is cancelling all of its events scheduled for January 2022 due to the continued spread of COVID-19, including most notably the U18 Women’s World Championship for a second straight year.
Other cancelled events are the Division IIB and Division III Men’s World Junior Championships and the Division IA, 1B, and Division II U18 Women’s World Championships.
It’s worth noting that this cancellation does not affect the current Men’s World Junior Championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, where pre-tournament games got underway today. It was also held last year in a bubble format, while the U18 Women’s Championship was cancelled.
Last year’s U18 Men’s Championship was not affected, and as of now, the IIHF still plans to hold the 2022 U18 Men’s Championship in April.