“This question is more complicated than it seems at first glance. I am chairman of the IIHF Competition and Coordination Committee, and it is our committee that makes proposals on these issues. Russia and Belarus are barred from participating in the competition due to security concerns, and Swedish hockey fully supports this decision.
However, Russia and Belarus are not excluded, but rather “frozen”. A country that is not excluded must somehow gain points in the world rankings. We came to the conclusion that this is the least bad option at the moment,” Larsson said, as quoted by Expressen.
- Nazarov appreciated Jalonen’s words about the Russian national team: “Why do we need this funny Finland?
Source: Sport

I’m Emma Smith, a dedicated journalist and avid storyteller. I have been writing for news websites for the past 5 years, reporting on hockey news and delivering in-depth analysis of the sport. In my current role as Author at Athletistic, I write about hockey events from around the world to keep followers up-to-date with what’s happening in the sport.