After a surprising pivot at the 2026 IIHF Congress in May, where the International Ice Hockey Federation announced that the blanket ban on Russia and Belarus’ participation on international hockey would be lifted in place of a case-by-case tournament review, the IIHF today confirmed each nation’s eligibility for IIHF tournaments for the 2026-27 season.
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Category Archives: IHLC News
🇨🇭 Reto Berra Announces Retirement From National Team At 39
Swiss goaltender Reto Berra, a consistent backstop for the Eisgenossen for over two decades, today confirmed his retirement from the Swiss national team, announcing he would continue his pro career, at age 39, with HC Fribourg-Gottéron of the Swiss National League.
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🇨🇦 Macklin Celebrini Named 2026 IIHF Male Player Of The Year
Canadian forward Macklin Celebrini, the sophomore phenom whose electric Olympic performance was followed up by captaining his country at the IIHF World Championship, was today awarded the IIHF’s Male Player Of The Year Award.
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🇨🇦 🇫🇮 🇺🇸 Hockey Hall Of Fame Announces Class Of 2026
The Hockey Hall Of Fame today announced their Class of 2026 to be inducted on 09 November, with first-ballot nominees Patrice Bergeron and Carey Price joining Pekka Rinne, Keith Tkachuk, Cindy Curley and Brian Burke, who will all enter the ranks of the Hall in Toronto.
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🇫🇷 IOC Confirms 2030 Olympic Ice Hockey Moving From Nice To Lyon
Nearly two years after the International Olympic Committee awarded the 2030 Winter Olympics to the French Alps, with Nice set to host ice sports (including hockey), today the IOC Executive Board approved the plan to move ice sports nearly 500 kilometres north to Lyon, after political upheaval in Nice left the Games without a venue.
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🇺🇸 Caroline Harvey Named 2026 IIHF Female Player Of The Year
On the day she is set to be the top draft pick in the 2026 PHWL Draft, American defender Caroline Harvey was today awarded the IIHF’s Female Player Of The Year Award for the 2025-26 season, capping a season in which she won the Patty Kazmaier Award as top NCAA player, along with MVP honours at the 2026 Olympics in Milan.
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Frankel, Pannek Highlight Top Winners At 2026 PWHL Awards
The Professional Women’s Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season at an awards ceremony in Detroit, Michigan, with six IHLC holders representing Canada and the United States taking home trophies following the league’s third season.
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🇨🇦 Kyle Calder: 1979-2026
Kyle Calder, the Canadian journeyman forward who saw his thirteen season pro career take him to the U.S., Canada, Sweden and Kazakhstan, along with capturing World Championship Gold and World Junior Championship Silver, sadly passed away today at the age of 47 after a brief illness.
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Staal’s Conn Smythe Wraps Up 2026 NHL Awards
The National Hockey League completed its awards distribution for the 2025-26 season with the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals, with twelve IHLC holders representing four countries taking home trophies handed out over the past month.
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🇺🇸 Carolina Hurricanes Capture Second Franchise Stanley Cup
The Carolina Hurricanes, long known for their inability to advance deep into the playoffs, today conquered the mountain again for the first time in two decades, going on a 16-3 playoff run to defeat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-0 in Game Six of the Stanley Cup Finals to win their first championship since 2006.
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🇩🇰 2026 Women’s World Championship Schedule Released
The schedule for the 2026 IIHF Women’s World Championship has been released, with the Danish cities of Herning and Esbjerg set to host for the first time since 2022, with Team USA looking to repeat as World Champions, along with doubling up on their 2026 Olympic Gold medal.
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🇺🇸 Savannah Harmon Retires From Hockey At Age 30
American defender Savannah Harmon, a two-time World Champion and former Olympian, today confirmed her retirement from pro hockey at the age of 30, following her third PWHL season, and first full season, with the Toronto Sceptres.
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2026 IIHF Congress Provides Updates On Russia, Belarus, Future Tournaments
The 2026 IIHF Congress concluded today in Zürich, Switzerland, with a number of major announcements made, the main one being the surprising reversal on the status of Russia and Belarus’ team participation following the original extension of their competition ban, which has been in place since 2022.
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🇨🇦 Claude Lemieux: 1965-2026
Claude Lemieux, the pesky forward with a penchant for clutch performances, a multitude of trophies and medals, and one of a handful of players to win the Stanley Cup with three different clubs, sadly passed away today at the age of 60, just days after appearing in Montréal during the Canadiens’ current playoff run.
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🇷🇺 Sergei Shirokov Retires From Hockey At KHL Awards
Russian winger Sergei Shirokov, a mainstay of both the KHL and Russian national team, announced his retirement at the 2026 KHL Awards ceremony in Moscow during his acceptance speech for the Gimayev Prize, leaving the game after nearly two decades in pro hockey, capped with a Gagarin Cup, two World Championships and an Olympic Gold medal.
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Sharipzyanov, Anas Big Winners At 2026 KHL Closing Ceremony
The Kontinental Hockey League formally wrapped their eighteenth season tonight in Moscow with their annual Closing Ceremony, awarding the league’s top teams, players and executives for their performance this year, with six former IHLC winners taking home trophies.
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🇬🇧 🇮🇹 Great Britain, Italy Relegated From 2026 IIHF World Championship
Division IA relegation at the 2026 World Championships came a full day before the end of group round competition, with Great Britain and Italy being relegated after a single year back up at the Top Division, meaning they will miss the 2027 Worlds in Germany.
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🇷🇺 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Repeat As Gagarin Cup Champions
Two years removed from being swept in their Gagarin Cup finals debut, Lokomotiv Yaroslavl is now in the midst of building a dynasty, repeating as champions with a 3-2 victory over Ak Bars in Game Six of the finals in Kazan.
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🇨🇦 🇺🇸 Five Players Join Triple Gold Club Following Victoire Walter Cup Win
Following the Montréal Victoire’s first Walter Cup championship, and the first title for a Canadian club, there are now five new members of the unofficial Women’s Triple Gold Club, as Canadians Marie-Philip Poulin, Laura Stacey, Ann-Renée Desbiens and Erin Ambrose, along with American Hayley Scamurra, have now added a Walter Cup to their existing Olympic and World Championship Gold medals.
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🇨🇦 Montréal Victoire Win 2026 Walter Cup, First For Canada
After two disappointing consecutive semifinal losses in the PWHL playoffs, the Montréal Victoire finally climbed the proverbial mountain, defeating the Ottawa Charge in four games to win the club’s, and Canada’s, first ever Walter Cup championship.
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International Hockey Lineal Championship 