Defenders Carson Lambos and Maximilian Streule were still trying to think about not playing for their respective countries at the Alberta men’s youth hockey world championships on Monday.
The Lambos of Canada and Streule of Switzerland were back in Manitoba awaiting the resumption of the Winnipeg Ice Western Hockey League schedule.
The men’s under-20 championship in Edmonton and Red Deer, Alta., Was abruptly canceled on its fourth day on December 29 in the face of players testing positive for COVID-19 and the loss of games that derailed the competitive integrity of the event.
Lambos was preparing for a nap before Canada’s game against Germany in Edmonton when he was summoned to an emergency team meeting and informed that there would be no more games.
“I’ve been pretty sad about the whole thing and I’m definitely upset and I’m still getting over it,” Lambos said.
“It takes a lot of work and a lot of effort to get there and be part of that team. So a little shocked and very disappointed. “
READ MORE: World Juniors Canceled in Edmonton, Red Deer Due to COVID-19 Cases
The reaction among his fellow Canadians was “some tears and mostly silence,” Lambos recalled.
The semifinals would have been Tuesday followed by Wednesday’s medal games at Edmonton’s Rogers Place.
Faced with the loss of a third game in two days, the International Ice Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada called for the tournament to be terminated after nine of 31 games had been played.
Two Russians, two Americans, two Swedes, a Canadian, a Czech, a Slovak, a German and an official on the ice had contracted the virus on December 30. They are currently in mandatory 10-day quarantines in their respective cities.
The 2022 tournament operated under a “protective environment” rather than the “bubble” that helped the 2021 tournament in Edmonton cross the finish line with no spectators in the arenas.
READ MORE: USA loses world youth hockey game against Switzerland due to COVID-19 quarantine
The teams were confined to their hotel, stadiums and ground transportation and all tournament personnel were screened daily. However, some teams shared hotels with the public.
Fans were able to enter both arenas up to a maximum of half capacity this year.
“Getting the fans in was a great thing,” Streule said. “We just wanted the fans to come back in and have the feeling of enjoying the whole tournament with everyone and not just the players who play there.”
Slovakia goalkeeper Simon Latkoczy criticized the tournament’s operation, calling it “a joke” and saying that “the organization from day one was terrible” in a post on social media.
“He has his opinion, he is a goalkeeper and very frank about what he sounds like. I saw what he said, ”Lambos said.
“Different people have different opinions and I will just move on with my life and not focus on smashing something or smashing something.”
Streule said: “I am not trying to take sides here. In the end, it was not possible to play the tournament as it was supposed to be played, so I think it was a good health decision ”.
The IIHF and Hockey Canada left the door open for the men’s U-20 tournament to be completed in 2022 in the spring or early summer.
“I sincerely hope everything turns out well because everyone wants to have a chance to show up again in a draft or whatever comes his way in his career,” Streule said.
Both Ice defenders are 18 years old and therefore eligible to play for their countries at the 2023 youth world championships scheduled to start in December in Novosibirsk and Omsk, Russia.
“It’s very disappointing to see a lot of those guys who are a year older than me and they won’t get a chance to be on the team next year,” Lambos said. “Hopefully they can figure something out for the summer, but it’s pretty devastating.
“Even for me, having the opportunity to possibly play the tournament twice and have one taken away from me is quite, quite disappointing.”
Ice (27-5-2) boast the best record in the WHL, but the team was in a holding pattern Monday.
With two Ice games postponed, Monday against Moose Jaw and Saturday against Calgary, Winnipeg’s next scheduled game is Jan. 15 against Regina Pats.
The WHL postponed two games for Winnipeg and two for Brandon Wheat Kings “due to current capacity restrictions in the province of Manitoba.”
© 2022 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca