NHL Officially Announces The 2028 World Cup of Hockey
The World Cup of Hockey has been rumoured for quite some time, and now, Commissioner Gary Bettman has made the official announcement for 2028, with fans thrilled about international hockey returning to such a big stage.
For months now, speculation has been swirling around a 2028 World Cup of Hockey, with recent reports revealing that the NHL are looking to host the event without the help of the IIHF.
On Wednesday with the first day of the Four Nations, Gary Bettman has taken to the podium to make it official, revealing the next World Cup of Hockey will be hosted in 2028, and will work every two years outside of the Olympic Games.
On top of that, it was revealed that there will be no 'Team Europe' or 'Team North America', but rather just nations, with Bettman promising that there will be at least eight competing nations in every event.
The obvious teams will be there like Canada, United States, Sweden and Finland, with Russia likely to return to the international scene, leaving room for the likes of Slovakia, Switzerland and the Czech Republic, with the NHL likely to host qualifying games and tournaments to determine the teams every year.
Beyond this, Bettman didn't provide all the details for the event, which will take place three years from now and continue every four years, but given the excitement of the NHL's return to the Olympic Games, it was an easy decision to make.
Now, the league still have plenty to work out before things can start being announced, with the focus to be on the 2026 Olympics for now, but if this can continue moving forward, it will be a huge move for hockey to have best-on-best tournaments on the international stage so often.
