World Junior Championships will be played in the Edmonton bubble

Real life Bubble Boys!

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 3 years ago
World Junior Championships will be played in the Edmonton bubble
Zuma Press

According to a report from TSN hockey insider Darren Dreger, the 2021 World Junior Championships will be played in a "bubble" in Edmonton, much like the NHL is currently utilizing.

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This seems like the easiest decision to make in history, doesn't it? After all, what better scenario to use the bubble approach if not for a short tournament where players don't typically travel for games even in the best of times. Obviously the IIHF and organizations like USA Hockey and Hockey Canada stand to lose millions of dollars in ticket sales, but such is life during COVID-19. As Dreger mentions, hopefully the 2022 event can go off without any sort of special arrangements.

In any case, team Canada will enter the tournament as defending champions, but they'll likely be without the likes of Alexis Lafreniere or Barrett Hayton this time around. Still, you can never count Canada out of a tournament until the final buzzer sounds. The truth is that Canada has dominated this tournament throughout the years in part because of their talent, but also because the tournament means so much to young Canadian hockey players. If you haven't experienced the World Junior Championships in Canada, you've robbed yourself of a truly unique hockey experience. Obviously hockey is King in Canada, but the World Junior Championships hold a special heart in the place of most Canadian hockey fans and personally speaking it's probably my favourite hockey tournament bar none. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but the NHL just can't match the physicality and intensity of high level junior hockey. It simply can't be matched.

It'll be interesting to see how bubble life affects these boys in their pursuit of the gold in December and January.