World Cup of Hockey set to return in 2028
With the massive success of the 4 Nations Face-Off, international hockey has been top-of-mind in the hockey world. It was announced on Feb. 12 that the series of international hockey will continue through 2030 in the French Alps Winter Olympics. Notably, 2028 will bring the return of the World Cup of Hockey for the first time since 2016.
The 4 Nations Face-Off has garnered the attention of the sports world. In fact, Saturday night’s USA versus Canada game had better ratings than the NBA All-Star Game. So, hockey has certainly benefitted from the reintroduction of best-on-best, international hockey.
“International best-on-best competition is very important to our players – representing their countries on the ice is in their DNA — and hockey fans love it,” said NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman. “Staging a World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 will provide [an] expanded opportunity for more players to represent more nations in best-on-best competition.”
Like the 4 Nations Face-Off, the World Cup of Hockey will be played with NHL rules, on NHL-sized rinks, and will be officiated by NHL referees, which should add familiarity to participating players and fans.
“The Players love representing their countries on the international hockey stage, and we are thrilled to pick up on the momentum of the 4 Nations Face-Off by announcing the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028 to establish a full international calendar of best-on-best,” said NHLPA Executive Director Marty Walsh.
The hockey world should be excited about the continuation of top-end international hockey. The 4 Nations has already been a success and one can assume that the coming tournaments will as well.
Luke Graham is a digital sports content co-op for 98.5 the Sports Hub. He is currently a sophomore communications student at Northeastern University. Follow him on X @LukeGraham05.
