The road to the 2021 IIHF World Junior Championship in Edmonton has not been an easy one. With plenty of positive COVID-19 tests during the training camp process -- some of which were later found to be false positives -- some questioned whether the tournament would even, or should even, happen.
It will happen, however, as the IIHF and Hockey Canada have worked hand-in-hand with local health officials in Alberta. They will follow the example of the NHL, which held a successful bubble in Edmonton once before. Several teams have lost significant pieces to their roster due to the pre-tournament COVID-19 testing protocol, and many NHL teams held onto prospects rather than let them play.