Report: Russia's participation in Olympic hockey tourney in question

One of the fixtures of international hockey could be missing from the next Olympic competition.

Russia's participation in the 2018 Olympic hockey tournament in Pyeongchang is in question, sources told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

As many as 20 Western-based national anti-doping committees and some IOC members are believed to be pushing for a ban of all Russian athletes from the upcoming Games, and fears were raised in international hockey circles this week that such a ban could be coming, according to the report.

The IOC has been investigating evidence of state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes who took part in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, following the findings of the McLaren Report in 2016.

On Saturday, KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko threatened to "respond accordingly" if all Russian athletes are banned from Pyeongchang, presumably by preventing all KHLers from taking part, which would affect more than just the Russian roster because the league also features players from Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.

However, IIHF president Rene Fasel said a KHL withdrawl is prohibited under the IIHF rules the league has agreed to.

The 2018 Olympic tournament will already be without NHL players, and if the Russian squad or all KHL players - or both - are absent from South Korea, it would further reduce the level of talent at the already depleted tournament.