The holiday tradition for many is coming to the Maritimes.
Moncton and Halifax have been selected to host the 2023 World Junior Hockey Championship.
The tourney kicks off on Boxing Day and runs until Jan. 5, 2023 at the Avenir Centre in Moncton and at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax.
In a phone interview shortly after the news broke, Halifax mayor Mike Savage said he was “excited as hell” to hear the news.
“It means a lot for us, and for Moncton. As we come out of Covid, our hotels and our bars and restaurants have paid a big price and made a lot of sacrifices. So to bring this kind of business to the city at a normally quiet time of year…I think is going to be amazing.”
Russia was originally scheduled to host the tournament but the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) removed the country’s hosting rights after Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.
The @iihf_wjc World Juniors 2023 are coming to #Halifax and #Moncton !! Looking forward to co-hosting with my friend @Dawn_Moncton and @CityofMoncton. Big thanks to @HockeyCanada and everyone who contributed to our winning bid @hfxgov @nsgov @hfxnovascotia @EventsEastCA pic.twitter.com/zz6n2tcdwk
— Mayor Mike Savage (@MikeSavageHFX) May 5, 2022
Halifax and Moncton have now been given the chance to host the championship, instead. Savage said it’s a huge honor for the cities, one that arrived in part because the region has a reputation for going above and beyond when hosting world-class events, including previous iterations of the World Juniors.
“Events like this, obviously, have a big economic impact [but] I think they also have a reputational impact,” Savage said. “[They] are really important for the lifeblood of a city.”
We go east! ➡️
The #WorldJuniors are staying in 🇨🇦 – Halifax, N.S., and Moncton, N.B., will co-host the 2023 IIHF World Junior Championship this winter.@IIHFHockey
— Hockey Canada (@HockeyCanada) May 5, 2022
With files from Jakob Postlewaite, and Derek Montague
