A Spengler Nope

With the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spreading exponentially across the globe, there is a clear being made by a number of leagues and organizations to slow the spread of this new wave of the virus. One of those organizations is Hockey Canada who made the decision today to withdraw its entry in the annual Spengler Cup, and one of my favorite international tournaments saw Canada as one of two teams step away from the tournament as teams and organizations look to keep their players and staff safe. I can't fault any of the teams and organizations who are taking this step, but it's just another heavy dose of sobering reality in a world battling a pandemic.

"We have a long-standing tradition of participating in the Spengler Cup, and it is disappointing that we are unable to attend the prestigious event this year," Tom Renney, Hockey Canada's chief executive officer, and Scott Smith, president and chief operating officer, wrote in a statement. "However, we strongly believe this is the right decision to maintain the health and safety of our players, coaches and support staff that were set to represent Canada."

With the joint statement above by Renney and Smith, that ends Canada's hopes in defending their 2019 tournament victory. Along with Canada, though, HC Ambri-Piotta from Italy were also forced to withdraw after 14 positive tests were returned yesterday to the club. They formally withdrew from the tournament as well, leaving the six-team competition with just four teams and organizers scrambling.

Teams who had been on the outside stepped up quickly. Slovak club HC Slovan Bratislava jumped into one of the vacated spots to keep the international flavour live, and the second spot will be a bit of a Swiss All-Star team as the sixth team will be comprised of players from SC Bern, EHC Biel, and the SCL Tigers. With these new teams, the field is now comprised of HC Davos (SWI), Frolunda HC (SWE), Kalpa Kuopio (FIN), Sparta Prague (CZE), HC Slovan Bratislava (SVK), and the "Swiss Stars" (SWI).

The new schedule for the tournament will be drawn up over the next day or so, but the tournament will still start on Boxing Day and end on New Year's Eve. I'm usually up early to catch the action from the Spengler Cup because I love seeing former NHL players and up-and-coming players in this tournament, but it appears that won't be a concern of mine this holiday season either as TSN's broadcast schedule has completely purged the Spengler Cup tournament from its planned offerings next week.

I find this difficult to comprehend in that TSN holds the rights to most Hockey Canada events and always covers the Spengler Cup, yet they refuse to broadcast the tournament when Canada opts not to participate. For a network that calls itself "The Sports Network", they sure seem hellbent on their own self-aggrandization when it comes to Canada's sports landscape, yet they refuse to show a tournament whose rights they show because it doesn't have a Canadian flavour among the participants? You can practically reach out and feel the hypocrisy that Bell Media peddles at this point.

Check the broadcast schedule for December 30 that includes nine-straight hours of the same SportsCentre broadcast followed by more than twelve hours of NCAA Bowl games for football on TSN5 while TSN1 features garbage programming for over 16 hours. Exciting stuff from "Canada's sports leader" on a day where there would have been where the two semi-final games played between teams at the Spengler Cup that easily would have made TSN worth watching. Instead, enjoy your 2021 STIHL Timbersports Canadian Pro Championship on TSN4 because lumberjacks are certainly better than live international hockey.

Hockey Canada's decision denied us of a Canadian holiday tradition in watching Canadians attempt to win the Spengler Cup, but TSN's thoughtlessness has denied us of any Spengler Cup action entirely. I guess the "Sports" in The Sports Network only means "when it benefits Hockey Canada" for Bell Media.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!