SNAPSHOTS: Senators have interest if 2023 IIHF world junior championship is in Canada


“Owner Eugene Melnyk has always been a big backer of this event.”

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The International Ice Hockey Federation has a decision to make regarding the 2023 world junior championship.

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After making the right move to pull the annual tournament during the holiday season out of Russia, the IIHF is looking for a new home for the event that will get underway on Boxing Day and will wrap up in the first week of January.

“The IIHF is not a political entity and cannot influence the decisions being taken over the war in Ukraine,” said IIHF president Luc Tardiff in a statement. “We nevertheless have a duty of care to all of our members and participants and must do all we can to ensure we are able to operate our events in a safe environment for all teams taking part in the IIHF World Championship program.”

While the possibility exists the 2024 tourney set for Sweden could be moved up a year, it may make more sense to bring it to Canada where the country is equipped to put the details in place in short order.

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Yes, Hockey Canada will host the 2022 version in August in Edmonton after it was postponed in December because of COVID-19, but really the formula for success is to hold it here twice in six months.

If that’s the case, then expect the Ottawa Senators to investigate being the host of the event at the Canadian Tire Center. In 2009, the city held one of the most successful tournaments in history by breaking attendance records with 453,282 patrons attending games at the CTC and TD Place Arena.

Senators president of business operations Anthony LeBlanc indicated in a text message late Monday he’d certainly pick up the phone to see what the requirements are to make a bid and whether Hockey Canada even has an interest in having the event in this country again.

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Owner Eugene Melnik has always been a big backer of this event.

The last time it was done in a partnership with the Ottawa 67’s when it was held here, but that’s not likely to happen if the Senators do bid because there’s no relationship with the Ottawa Sports and Entertainment Group.

This time, though, there’s another option in the area with the newly built Center Slush Puppie in Gatineau that opened in October 2021.

The 4,000-seat facility, the home of the QMJHL’s Gatineau Olympiques, would make a perfect second venue for the wold junior tourney. If the organizers insist on an outdoor option, then the Senators could approach the City of Ottawa for TD Place Stadium, but it’s likely too late to make that a reality.

Given the fact the region is trying to recover from the financial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic the last two years, there’d be no reason why the City of Ottawa, the politicians in Gatineau and the local tourism authorities on both sides of the river wouldn’t get behind a bid to make this a reality.

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We can’t get ahead of ourselves because right now it’s up to the IIHF to determine what the next steps will be for the tourney. The decision was only made Monday to pull it out of Russia because of the attack on Ukraine and there was no mention of a path forward to relocate the event.

Still, Ottawa would be a good fit if Hockey Canada does make a bid.

KUDOS FOR SMITH AND THE SENATORS

Tampa Bay Coach John Cooper gave a tip of the cap to Senators coach DJ Smith and his staff Tuesday morning.

“They play everybody tough,” Cooper said before the game. “DJ has done a hell of a job with the team. They’ve got a bunch of young talent and injuries have probably screwed them a little bit. They play a predictable game, they work their asses off and they’re hard to play against.

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“They’re growing, they’ve got some star players in there and I think they’re getting some goaltending more consistently now, and it makes them a tough out.”

The Bolts are coming off a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators with 68,000 fans in the seats at Nissan Stadium in the Music City so Cooper was cautioning his group to be prepared for a bit of a letdown.

“There’s going to be a reset just because of the show that was with the intensity and all the fanfare that went with it,” Cooper added. “In the end, it was just game No. 51 and now we’re at game No. 52, and we’ve just to make sure we’re dialed in for this one. That was the message today.”

THE LAST WORDS

The Senators were without center Chris Tierney after he left the ice midway through Tuesday’s morning skate.

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While there has been an illness running through the team, Smith told reporters in Tampa he had an injury. It will be interesting to see where Tierney fits on this team once center Josh Norris returns from his shoulder injury.

Tierney has been playing a fourth-line role this season but has struggled mightily to get the job done. He has six goals and 15 points in 51 games this season and is minus-six. Tierney hasn’t scored since Feb. 8 against Carolina.

Once Norris is back, unless Tierney is moved to the wing he may be scratched.

That could happen as early as Thursday night against the Florida Panthers as this road continues trip. The Senators haven’t put a timetable on Norris, but he did accompany the club on this trip and is scheduled to play at some point.

Norris has missed 16 games with the injury.

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Twitter: @sungarrioch

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