World Cup of Hockey 2028 to build on international intrigue from 4 Nations, Olympics

MANALAPAN, Fla. -- Is it 2028 yet?

After the Olympic men’s hockey tournament in Milan last month, who can wait for the World Cup of Hockey in two years?

“I think what you saw in the Olympics is an indication of what you’ll see in the World Cup of Hockey,” NHL Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said Monday, when the NHL and the NHL Players’ Association announced Calgary, Edmonton and Prague as the World Cup host cities.

In some ways, the World Cup might be better than the Olympics.

We don’t know all the details yet, including whether Russia will compete. But we know there will be eight teams, not 12 like the Olympics. There shouldn’t be mismatches like there were in the preliminary round in Milan. Team Finland defeated Team Italy 11-0, and Team Canada won 10-2 against Team France.

“Obviously, the hockey got better as the Olympics progressed,” Daly said. “We’re going to start in a situation where the hockey’s pretty good right away -- not pretty good, really good, right away.”

In the round robin, four teams will play in Prague, four in Calgary. In each pool, the first-place team will get a bye into the semifinals, while the second- and third-place teams will play an elimination game for a spot in the semis.

The semifinals and the final will be in Edmonton.

The past two best-on-best tournaments have come down to overtime between Canada and the United States. At the 4 Nations Face-Off last season, Connor McDavid scored for Canada. In Milan, Jack Hughes scored for Team USA.

The Canada-U.S. rivalry is better than ever before.

The U.S. hadn’t won a best-on-best tournament since defeating Canada in the final of the World Cup in 1996. Detroit Red Wings general manager Steve Yzerman played for Canada then. He also played at the Olympics in 2002, when Canada defeated the U.S. in the gold medal game, and was executive director at the Olympics in 2010 and 2014, when Canada defeated the U.S. in the gold medal game and semifinals, respectively.

“It’s pushing Canada to be better, which is going to elevate the play,” Yzerman said. “It’s incredible. You’ve got the best players in the world on these two countries. The 4 Nations was incredibly exciting. The Olympics was tremendous hockey, and I think the World Cup will only continue to add to that.”

The World Cup won’t be a two-team tournament, though. Canada and the U.S. each was a shot away from elimination before eventually meeting in the gold medal game in Milan.

Canada had to come back from a 3-2 deficit to defeat Team Czechia 4-3 in overtime in the quarterfinals, then had to come back from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Team Finland 3-2 in the semifinals, Nathan MacKinnon scoring the winner with 35.3 seconds left in the third period.

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The U.S. needed overtime to defeat Team Sweden 2-1 in the quarters.

“When you look at the extraordinary skill that our elite players have, it’s the reason that the competitive balance is so strong in our season and it’s so strong in international competition,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “I don’t think there’s anything that compares, which is why the response from the public has been extraordinary.”

Unlike the Olympics, the World Cup will be staged by the NHL and NHLPA. That means the tournament will be played under NHL rules, and the NHL and NHLPA will be free to market it as they see fit.

And the best part?

The 4 Nations Face-Off was the first best-on-best tournament since the World Cup in 2016. Milan was the first Olympics with NHL players since Sochi in 2014. But now the NHL and NHLPA plan to have a regular schedule of best-on-best tournaments.

“We think having an every-two-year-rhythm -- Olympics, World Cup, year off in between -- will continue to grow the game and build the property, particularly our property, the World Cup, and so that’s something that we’re focused on for the long term,” Bettman said. “We think it’s important for the game and important for the players.”

NHLPA executive director Marty Walsh said each event builds up to the next. Teams don’t have to wait too long for their next opportunity. Fans don’t have to wait too long to see this kind of hockey again. The rosters will evolve.

“You’re going to have different players on these teams,” Walsh said. “There’s a lot of young stars that didn’t make the Olympic team that will be on the World Cup of Hockey team.”

And then in 2030, there will be young stars who didn’t make the World Cup team that will be on the Olympic team.

“I think it’s a fantastic thing,” Yzerman said. “Every two years, I think it’s going to be phenomenal for our sport and our league.”