World Cup of Hockey returning in 2028

Article posted by Coliseum, February 25^th, 2025

Image: NHL

The World Cup of Hockey will make a welcome comeback in 2028, organisers the NHL and NHL Players’ Association have revealed.

NHL.com said the tournament, which will be held in February 2028, will be part of a calendar of international competition that includes the 4 Nations Face-Off and the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympics and 2030 French Alps Olympics.

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, “We are moving forward with the World Cup two years after the Olympics in 2028. We will be asking for bids on hosting games. We will have a package that’s just about done that will be done in the next few weeks.

“We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality Olympics-World Cups-Olympics-World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries and we know the full-blown World Cup, of which this (the 4 Nations Face-Off) is simply a sampler, is going to be sensational.”

The 4 Nations Face-Off, which will be played in Montreal and Boston, is the first international best-on-best tournament with NHL players since the World Cup of Hockey 2016 in Toronto.

The NHL did not send players to the Winter Olympics in 2018 and 2022 but will send them to Italy next February. Having the 2028 World Cup sandwiched between the 2026 and 2030 Olympics would further extend the calendar of best-on-best hockey.

NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh said, “One of the first things the players talked to me about when I took this role as the executive director is international best-on-best competition, and we’ve gotten to work with the League.

“We worked very closely together to be able to put 4 Nations together in a very short period of time. And already it’s been a success, and I think moving forward it’s just going to be exciting.

“People are excited about it here in Montreal. People are excited about it in Boston. The fans are going to get an incredible show, both that show up to the games and also on TV around the world.”

The 2028 tournament will mark the fourth World Cup of Hockey (1996, 2004 and 2016). Games are expected to be played in North America and Europe with at least eight teams competing.

Unlike the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which included Team North America (a blend of 23-and-under players from the United States and Canada) and Team Europe (players from European countries other than Sweden, Finland, Czechia and Russia), the 2028 World Cup is expected to include only teams from individual countries.

Bettman said, “We have a myriad of decisions that we have to make, which is one of the reasons that the timeframe we had to put [the 4 Nations Face-Off] together, this was the best format that was in a position for us to execute in a first-class way in the time frame that we had.”

The 2028 World Cup of Hockey will be played on NHL-sized rinks using NHL rules and officiated by NHL officials. Other competition details will be determined by the NHLPA and NHL in consultation with third parties, where appropriate, in the coming months.

Sweden and Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson said, “It’s great. Something that we’ve missed for a long period of time now. If we can get to a schedule where every second year there’s a big tournament played, I think that’s ideal for everyone.”

The objective is to have an international best-on-best competition every two years after the 2030 Olympics as well.

The NHL and NHLPA will continue work together following the completion of the 4 Nations Face-Off on additional details for the 2028 World Cup, including participating teams, tournament dates and times, broadcast information, training camp dates and locations, which will be announced later this year.

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