Steven Ellis/The Hockey News
The IIHF announced on Tuesday that Russia and Belarus will not be admitted to participate in international competitions for the 2025-26 season.
The two nations have been frozen out of tournaments such as the World Championship and the World Junior Championship since their invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
“Following its latest meeting this morning, the IIHF Council believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate the Russian and Belarusian National and Club Teams to its championships for the 2025-26 season,” the federation announced.
The IIHF will continue to monitor the situation and will make another decision in May 2026 to determine if the two nations can compete in competitions for the 2026-27 season.
While they continue to be sidelined for tournaments under the IIHF, there’s still a possibility for Russia and Belarus to compete in the 2026 Winter Olympics held in Milan.
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) gets the final say in Olympic competitions.
At the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, 15 Russian athletes participated. They were permitted to compete in individual sports such as cycling, gymnastics, tennis and more.
The athletes didn’t represent the country Russia but instead were considered Individual Neutral Athletes.
Russia and Belarus last competed in the 2022 Winter Olympics, held in Beijing. However, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said NHL players were not permitted to play in those games because of the spread of COVID-19 and the scheduling of the 2021-22 season.
The last time the Winter Olympics saw NHL players compete was in 2014, when the games were held in Sochi, Russia.
It’s been confirmed that NHL players will compete in the 2026 Olympics, but the IOC has yet to decide whether Russia and Belarus can compete in team events.
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