NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh revealed that the World Cup of Hockey will return in 2028, two years after NHL players are expected to participate in the Olympics once again.
With this news, Bettman said, “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.”
The World Cup is set for February 2028, replacing the NHL All-Star Weekend at an undisclosed location. The NHL said it will soon begin accepting bids for host cities in North America and Europe.
Russia’s involvement in the event
The exact format of the men’s international tournament — and whether Russia will be included — is still unknown.
Bettman further said, “Russia has a great hockey tradition, we have great Russian players playing in our league… We’re going to have to see what the International Olympic Committee does, but we have enough time to deal with the realities with what the world situation looks like before then.”
Walsh also stated that the Russian NHL players are eager to return to best-on-best competition. He explained: “They want to represent their country, they want to play in this tournament, they want to be part of 4 Nations, they want to play in the Olympics… 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.”
Russia was excluded from the 4 Nations Face-Off, which also includes the US and Finland, because of its ongoing war with Ukraine. The International Ice Hockey Federation has banned Russia and Belarus from participating in events in the 2025-26 season. Moreover, Mr Bettman mentioned that the NHL will carefully consider its decision regarding Russia’s participation in the 2028 World Cup.
The NHL last held a World Cup in 2016 in Toronto, with under-23 Team North America and Team Europe—a group of all-stars from unrepresented countries—joining Canada, the United States, Russia, Sweden, Finland, and Czechia in the eight-team tournament.
Bettman stated that the 2028 edition will include at least eight teams and won’t feature combined teams.
The league also hosted World Cups in 1996 and 2004. The U.S. won the first tournament, while Canada won in 2004 and 2016.