Hockey Canada pulls team out of annual Spengler Cup in Switzerland | CBC Sports

Hockey Canada has decided to not send a team to the annual Spengler Cup because of concerns over COVID-19.

The tournament is scheduled to run Dec. 26-31 in Davos, Switzerland, but increasing cases spurred by the Omicron variant have caused havoc with a number of sports organizations around the globe.

“After careful consideration and following discussion with our chief medical officer about the ever-changing landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hockey Canada has made the difficult decision to withdraw from the 2021 Spengler Cup in Davos, Switzerland,” the organization said in a statement released Monday.

“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. 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.”

Canada has the most championships of any country at the tournament, most recently in 2019. The tournament was cancelled in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.