As hockey fans prepared to watch their favorite NHL players take part in the 4 Nations Face-Off, the first best-on-best tournament since 2016, they received more good news ahead of puck drop.
The World Cup of Hockey will return in 2028, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced at the Bell Centre in a joint press conference with NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh.
“International best-on-best competition is very important to our players — representing their countries on the ice is in their DNA — and hockey fans love it,” Bettman said less than two hours before Canada and Sweden were set to meet in the opening game of the 4 Nations tournament. “Resuming Olympic participation next season and staging a World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 will provide expanded opportunity for more players to represent more nations in best-on-best competition.
“With this tournament — and the World Cup’s return to regular rotation — the NHL and NHLPA take a major step in our joint commitment to international hockey.”
Jointly organized by the NHL and NHLPA, the World Cup of Hockey will feature the world’s top players competing in an international tournament. It will be the tournament’s fourth edition, which was previously held in 1996, 2004, and 2016.
“The players love representing their countries on the international hockey stage, and we are thrilled to pick up on the momentum of the 4 Nations Face-Off by announcing the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 to establish a full international calendar of best-on-best,” Walsh said. “It is one of the greatest honors for any player who gets to play on the global stage wearing their home country’s hockey sweater.
“Hockey fans around the world are about to be treated to exceptional hockey with the best players in the world competing against each other for international hockey glory.”
The World Cup will feature NHL rules, NHL referees and linesmen, and NHL-sized rinks.
A bidding process for host cities and venues is expected to begin in the coming months. NHL players are also set to return to the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games and again to the French Alps in 2030.
Team Canada was perfect at the 2016 World Cup in Toronto, topping Team Europe in a best-of-three championship final.
–Reuters
