World Cup of Hockey Is Back After 12 Years: NHL Announces Return

The World Cup of Hockey is an ice hockey tournament that was inaugurated in 1992. It had only been held twice since 2004 and 2016. It was uncertain if the tournament would be held again, however, after a gap of 12 years the National Hockey League (NHL) announced its comeback on Wednesday, 12 February.

The World Cup of Hockey will be returning in 2028, and at least eight teams will be competing for the trophy. The teams will be based on individual countries this year, unlike the earlier format which was a blend of several countries.

While the other details remain unknown, what we know is that the NHL and NHLPA will be working together on the successful completion of the 4 Nations Face-Off where they will also be discussing the World Cup of Hockey. Other details like the teams that will take part, the venue, and locations will be disclosed later this year.

According to the announcement, the World Cup and the Olympics will take place every two years in rotation starting from the Winter Olympics in 2026. The NHL has not appeared for a single Olympics since 2014 and they are set to make a comeback in the next edition.

“We’re going to the Olympics, the agreement’s on paper. We haven’t signed it yet. We’re still working through it. It’s a large agreement. There’s no obstacle. There’s no real big obstacle. It’s just a matter of putting pen to paper.” Walsh said regarding the NHL’s participation.

Marty Walsh, the executive director of the NHL told the media, “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,”

“We know the full-blown World Cup, this is simply a sampler, is going to be sensational,” he added

There is uncertainty about whether the Russian players will be joining the league because of the ongoing war, the director shared his thoughts regarding the matter, “I’d love to see our Russian players paying in these tournaments again,”.

“They’re incredible hockey players. The issues are political. Not political as far as the NHLPA; it’s world politics we have to get through. I’m hoping that as we get closer to the Olympics, closer to the World Cup, we will start seeing Russian athletes back in the competition.” he added.

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