2028 World Cup of Hockey

2028 World Cup of Hockey
Coupe du monde de hockey 2028
Světový pohár v ledním hokeji 2028
Tournament details
Host countries Canada
 Czechia
Venues3 (in 3 host cities)
DatesFebruary 2028
Teams8

The 2028 World Cup of Hockey will be the fourth installment of the World Cup of Hockey by the National Hockey League. It will be played in February 2028, with 17 games in three host cities. The competition will include eight teams from individual countries in North America and Europe.[1][2][3]

Background

The previous edition of the World Cup of Hockey was held in 2016, and was the last international ice hockey tournament until 2025 to feature full rosters of National Hockey League players. On February 2, 2024, at a press conference before the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the NHL and NHL Players' Association had reached an agreement to release NHL players for the 2026 and 2030 Olympic Games, as well as bring back the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 and 2032, following an 8-year hiatus on NHL participation in international competitions.[4]

In order to promote the return of NHL players to the international stage, the league organized the 4 Nations Face-Off which was played in February 2025 between Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States.

The 2028 World Cup of Hockey will be the 16th "best-on-best" international tournament to include NHL players.[a] Canada are the defending World Cup of Hockey champions having won the 2016 title, while the United States are the most recent "best-on-best" international champions following their gold medal victory at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Host selection

The NHL had initially announced that the tournament would be played at two venues; one in North America and another in Europe, but had yet to confirm the exact host cities and arenas. On December 9, 2025, the NHL revealed that they had narrowed down the list of potential host cities to 16, with 10 cities bidding for hosting rights in North America, and another 6 cities in Europe.[5] On March 16, 2026, it was announced that Calgary and Edmonton in Canada, and Prague in Czechia will be the host cities. Calgary and Prague will each host six round-robin and one elimination game, while the two semifinal games and the championship game will be held in Edmonton.[6]

Venues

700km
435miles
Location of the host cities in Canada.
90km
56miles
Location of the host city in Czechia.

Scotia Place, Calgary and O2 Arena, Prague will each host a round robin group and one knockout stage game. The semifinals and final will be hosted in Rogers Place, Edmonton.

City Stadium Capacity Image
Calgary Scotia Place 18,400
Edmonton Rogers Place 18,347
Prague O2 Arena 17,383

Teams

The NHL has not announced which teams will be participating, although they have confirmed that all eight teams will be representing individual countries unlike the previous tournament which included Team Europe and Team North America.[1] Canada and Czechia were essentially confirmed as participants when they were announced as the host countries on March 16, 2026. It is presumed that Finland, Sweden, and the United States will also participate, due to their involvement with the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025.

Russia's participation remains uncertain as they are still under an IIHF suspension due to the Russo-Ukrainian war, and although the NHL is not obligated to enforce this suspension at the World Cup of Hockey, the league had excluded them from the 4 Nations Face-Off and had announced that they will "continue to monitor world events before a decision is made".[1][7] On March 18, 2026, NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly announced that Russia were not likely to be included if the Russo-Ukrainian war was ongoing in 2028.[8] The NHL is also concerned that Russian participation would potentially jeopardize the entire event, as the hockey federations of Czechia, Finland, and Sweden allegedly informed the NHL that they would boycott the tournament if Russia was included.[8]

Confirmed teams
Team Previous appearances Best result
Host teams
 Canada 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Champions (2004, 2016)
 Czechia 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Semifinals (2004)
Other 4 Nations Face-Off participants
 Finland 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Runner-up (2004)
 Sweden 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Semifinals (1996, 2016)
 United States 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Champions (1996)
Potential teams
Team Previous appearances Best result
Previous participants in good standing
 Germany 2 (1996, 2004) Quarterfinals (1996, 2004)
 Slovakia 2 (1996, 2004) Quarterfinals (2004)
Potential debuts
  Switzerland[7] 0 None
Previous participants under IIHF suspension
 Russia 3 (1996, 2004, 2016) Semifinals (1996, 2016)

Group stage

North American pool (Calgary)

Team GP W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 Canada (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to semifinals
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to quarterfinals
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First games will be played: February 2028. Source:
(H) Host
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary

European pool (Prague)

Team GP W OTW OTL L GF GA GD Pts Qualification
 Czechia (H) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to semifinals
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Advance to quarterfinals
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TBA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
First games will be played: February 2028. Source:
(H) Host
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vO2 Arena, Prague

Knockout stage

Bracket

 
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
 
          
 
 
 
 
 February – Edmonton
 
 
 
 
 February – Calgary
 
 
 
 
 
 February – Edmonton
 
 
 
 
 
 February – Prague
 
 
 
 
 
 February – Edmonton
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Quarterfinals

February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary or O2 Arena, Prague
February 2028vScotia Place, Calgary or O2 Arena, Prague

Semifinals

February 2028vRogers Place, Edmonton
February 2028vRogers Place, Edmonton

Final

February 2028vRogers Place, Edmonton

Broadcasting

In March 2026, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated that they will open the bidding for the broadcasting rights instead of automatically awarding them to the league's current media partners in Canada, Europe, and the United States.[9][10]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Not including the 1972 Summit Series.

References

  1. ^ a b c "World Cup of Hockey to return in February 2028". www.nhl.com. February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 15, 2025.
  2. ^ "NHL, NHLPA launch stage to host World Cup of Hockey 2028". www.nhl.com. September 16, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  3. ^ "World Cup of Hockey 2028". www.nhl.com. February 13, 2025. Retrieved September 23, 2025.
  4. ^ Silverman, Alex (February 2, 2024). "NHL, NHLPA announce Olympic return, launch new international event". Sports Business Journal. Archived from the original on February 2, 2024. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Engels, Eric (December 9, 2025). "Board of Governors meeting roundup: 16 cities in running for 2028 World Cup". Sportsnet. Retrieved February 24, 2026.
  6. ^ "World Cup of Hockey 2028 to be played in Calgary, Edmonton, Prague". www.nhl.com. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 16, 2026.
  7. ^ a b Francis, Eric (March 1, 2026). "Gary Bettman heading to Calgary to look at potential World Cup venue". Sportsnet. Retrieved March 4, 2026.
  8. ^ a b O'Leary, Sean (March 18, 2026). "Russia unlikely to compete in 2028 World Cup of Hockey if war continues". theScore. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  9. ^ "World Cup of Hockey to be hosted by Calgary, Prague and Edmonton in 2028, NHL announces". The Athletic. March 16, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
  10. ^ "NHL-controlled 2028 World Cup of Hockey to sell TV rights separate from regular packages". Awful Announcing. March 19, 2026. Retrieved March 19, 2026.
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