War, COVID-19, sexual assault scandal: Oddly timed world juniors attract controversy

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The world was a different place in mid-December.

The Omicron variant of COVID-19 had yet to truly make its presence felt. Russia had not yet invaded Ukraine. And chilling sexual assault allegations surrounding Hockey Canada were not yet public.

Later that month, the annual men's world junior hockey tournament barely got off its feet before a spate of positive tests among players and staff forced its postponement.

And so here we are in August, with the world juniors set to begin anew in Edmonton under dramatically different circumstances.

Here's everything you need to know:

Allegations of a group sexual assault perpetrated by members of Canada's 2018 world junior team are clouding this year's tournament. The accusation came to light in May when Hockey Canada settled a lawsuit with a woman over the assault alleged to have happened at a post-tournament gathering in London, Ont. The woman, who was 20 at the time, said eight hockey players sexually assaulted her in a hotel room while she was too intoxicated to consent. She claimed the players brought golf clubs to intimidate her, and told her afterward to claim she was sober while pressuring her not to report the incident or cooperate with authorities. The lawsuit also accused Hockey Canada of condoning a "culture and environment that glorified the degradation and sexual exploitation of young women." The response was swift: sponsors pulled their support, the federal government froze its funding to the organization and a similar incident regarding the 2003 world junior team also surfaced. Further angering the general public was