Players react to World Championship cancellation on social media

On Wednesday afternoon, the IIHF cancelled the 2021 World Championship, slatted to begin in two and a half weeks, due to rising COVID cases in Nova Scotia. No back up plans were announced beyond the IIHF and Hockey Canada “pledged to work towards finding new dates for the tournament, with the goal to host the event in the summer of 2021.”

As the news settled in, players took to social media to express their frustration, sadness, let fans know what the protocols they were following, and more. We’ve rounded up some of their posts.

Kendall Coyne Schofield (USA) made a statement talking about the lack of backup plans and that is has been “739 days” since the last World Championship, which took place in 2019.

Jill Saulnier (Canada) posted a long caption on Instagram detailing the protocols the 47 Canadian players who were already skating in Nova Scotia were following.

Blayre Turnbull (Canada) did similarly.

Nana Fujimoto (Japan) highlighted how soon her team was set to leave for Canada and also what the lack of a tournament means for a player, like her, who might not have many playing days left.

Former players also chimed in.


2021 World Championships cancelled