Hooray NHL for not glorifying Russians in 4 Nations Face-Off

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Yeah, yeah … Connor Bedard didn’t make the Canadian roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Neither did Mark Scheifele or Evan Bouchard.

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That’s not the biggest debate though, despite the never-ending discussions on TV sportscasts about this made-up, NHL-mandated event and who should be the seventh defenceman or 13th forward on each team’s roster.

The biggest issue is actually this: When did the NHL become bold enough to temporarily stop glorifying Russian hockey players like Alexander Ovechkin, Nikita Kucherov and Igor Shesterkin?

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Of course there are fans who want to see the Russians play in this event, but those are typically people who think politics and sports are not connected. That athletes are only pawns and the war in Ukraine is simply an elevating of “tensions.” (Honestly saw that on a social media site last week.)

They must also think Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record isn’t going to be celebrated as a wonderful Russian accomplishment.

In Russia they feted the greatness of the totalitarian regime when tennis player Daniil Medvedev recently ascended to the top spot in world rankings, supposedly proving the superiority of his country’s athletes and training methods. And Belarusian gymnast Ivan Litvinovich was certainly trumpeted nationally for back-to-back Olympic gold medals in trampoline, even though he was designated as a “neutral” athlete in the recent Games.

If sports don’t want to be political, they should stop playing national anthems at sporting events.

National anthems praise a country’s people, beauty and systems. There’s no way sports don’t fit into all those categories, in a twisted way of saying, “We’re better than you!”

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Good for the NHL for its controversial but correct stance, however it was reached, insuring Russia isn’t among the four nations vying for fame, fortune and a trophy in a seven-game tournament designed to replace the annual all-star game. Games in the 4 Nations Face-Off will be played during mid-February in Montreal and Boston. National anthems will be played. Nationalism will abound.

Participating countries will be Canada, Sweden, Finland and USA.

Even though it has been a hockey superpower for more than 50 years, Russia won’t be participating because 33 months ago Russian dictator Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to invade Ukraine. Most of the rational world has tried to end the war by implementing trade embargoes, economic sanctions, political isolation and pulling dozens of sports events out of Russia. So far nothing has stopped the conflict as different countries send artillery to their chosen allies.

Starting with the International Olympic Committee — which cited Russia’s rampant use of performance-enhancing drugs among its athletes, alongside Putin’s invasion, as reasons for imposing discipline — Russian and Belarusian teams have been prevented from representing their countries internationally in numerous sports from cycling to fencing, basketball to hockey. Individual athletes have been allowed to compete in numerous sports, but they’re not supposed to be affiliated with a Russian team. Hence, the neutral designation at recent Olympic Games.

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The Olympics, that’s where the world’s best athletes meet. NHL players missed the last two Winter Games, but commissioner Gary Bettman earlier this year announced the league would allow its players to compete in 2026 and 2030. Whether the Russian team will be reinstated depends on the war in Ukraine. There are lots of politics still to be played.

The Olympics have long served as the height of political gamesmanship, from Jesse Owens innocently embarrassing Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime in 1936 to the U.S. boycotting the Moscow Games in 1980 and the then-Soviet bloc retaliating with its own boycott of the 1984 Los Angeles Games. The Games are supposed to symbolize and garner co-operation and peace throughout the world.

The International Ice Hockey Federation abides by the IOC recommendations and isn’t allowing Russian teams to compete in international competitions until at least next season. The NHL doesn’t have to follow any IIHF edict, but it did for a 4 Nations event it loves to describe as “best-on-best.” It can’t be best-on-best without Germany’s Leon Draisaitl and Tim Stützle, Switzerland’s Roman Josi and Nico Hischier and Czechia’s David Pastrnak and Martin Necas.

Of course there will be entertaining hockey games. Good athletes playing a wonderful sport. Patriotism. And thanks to the NHL, a surprisingly strong statement against Russian imperialism.

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