Gary Bettman Confirms Game-Changing News for Best-on-Best Hockey
In a great bit of news for the international game, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced a World Cup in 2028 -- just as the 4 Nations was set to kick off.
With the 4 Nations Face-Off set to kick off with Team Canada against Team Sweden to open things up, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman started the festivities with a huge announcement -- the NHL is going to have a World Cup in 2028.
There is also a lot of incentive for international play as well, as European cities will be able to bid for a chance to host/participate even without official IIHF representation.
So what exactly is the NHL trying to accomplish?
Surely it's an expansion of stars and will presumably include countries like Czechia, Germany, Slovakia, Latvia, and Switzerland.
The tournament is scheduled to be held in February 2028 -- following in the footsteps of the 4 Nations as a mid-season tournament.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman gave an official statement ahead of the first game of the 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.
It's a massive addition to the NHL season and it's certainly exciting to see what the teams could look like in three years and who the next breakout international stars are going to be.
It's the fourth World Cup of Hockey in NHL history with earlier ones taking place in 1996, 2004, and 2016 and while there is no IIHF participation -- cities from around the world are eligible to bid for the chance to host.
A caveat is that the game is going to be played on NHL regulation ice, with NHL rules and NHL officials so for us who were expecting an international aspect to the rules -- we're out of luck.
Any additional details regarding teams, broadcast dates, schedule, practice dates etc. will be revealed later on this year.
NHL players seem excited as well about the revival of the tournament as well, as Erik Karlsson -- representing Sweden at the 4 Nations -- loves the chance to represent his country:
For those interested in any previous World Cup information, please visit Records.NHL.com
