The 2023 World Junior Championship has found a new home.Â
According to a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger on Thursday, the 2023 World Juniors will be held in Halifax and Moncton, marking the tournament’s return to the Maritimes for the first time since 2003.
This decision comes shortly after the IIHF stripped the Russian Ice Hockey Federation of its hosting duties for the 2023 World Junior Championship after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the event originally scheduled to take place in Novosibirsk.Â
As Dreger reports, an official announcement from the IIHF is expected to come later Thursday afternoon.Â
The last world junior tournament to be held in Halifax produced featured the rise of a future NHLer. Russia took home the gold medal back at 2003 event, with their roster headlined by a then-undrafted Alex Ovechkin who racked up seven points in six games to lead his country to victory.Â
With the many pegging the 2003 NHL draft class as being the deepest in years, perhaps fans could see yet another star write the first page of their story on the same ice that the Great Eight did.Â
