Best-on-best international hockey returned with a bang at the 4 Nations Face-Off and for those who are a big fan of international competition, like myself, the next decade is going to be a treat to watch the game’s biggest stars represent their respective nations.
Just before the 4 Nations Face-Off began, the NHL announced the return of the World Cup of Hockey in February 2028 with at least eight countries participating and potentially, some games at the tournament will be held in Europe.
“We are moving forward with the World Cup two years after the Olympics in 2028,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “We will be asking for bids on hosting games. We will have a package that’s just about done that will be done in the next few weeks and 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 and we know the full-blown World Cup, of which this (the 4 Nations Face-Off) is simply a sampler, is going to be sensational.”
While the 4 Nations Face-Off was a nice appetizer for the Winter Olympics next February, having the return of a full-on World Cup of Hockey in three years is fantastic news for the sport and it’ll give other players like David Pastrnak (Czechia), Leon Draisaitl (Germany), and Nico Hischier (Switzerland) an opportunity to represent their nation at a marquee international tournament.
Because the tournament is being held mid-season in February 2028, the most likely amount of nations that’ll be participating, in my opinion, will be eight, with two groups of four and the top two in each group advancing to the playoff round – semi-finals, then finals.
If the National Hockey League and Players Association want to get more nations involved, which would be nice to see, then this is the perfect opportunity to expand on previous formats the World Cup of Hockey has used and possibly, in late-August 2027, they could do a qualifying tournament with four nations competing for the final two spots, while the top-six in the IIHF rankings at that point in time are guaranteed spots.
Potential Groups/Qualifying for 2028 World Cup of Hockey
If we take a look at the IIHF rankings, and we include Russia (who is currently 2nd), then the top-six who directly qualify for the 2028 World Cup – at this point – would be Canada (1), Russia (2), Finland (3), Czechia (4), Switzerland (5), United States (6).
As for the qualifying tournament that I previously suggested for the final two tournament spots, that would feature, if based on current IIHF rankings, Sweden (7), Germany (8), Slovakia (9), Latvia (10).
It’s worth noting that between now and the summer of 2027, when a qualifying tournament would most likely take place, there are 4 tournaments that will have a major impact on the IIHF rankings – 2025, 2026 & 2027 IIHF World Championships, and 2026 Winter Olympics. So while right now Sweden may be outside the top-six, don’t expect that to last very long.
Return of Best-on-Best great for players, NHL & fans
The growth of hockey globally is something that the National Hockey League is trying to capitalize on and they’ve done a great job of that through ‘Global Series’ games that have gone as far as China and Australia in recent years, as well as Japan in the late 1990s/early 2000s.
With the attention that the 4 Nations Face-Off has brought to the National Hockey League, this is the perfect time for them to continue to have their players participating in international events, like the Olympics and World Cup in the years ahead.
These tournaments are going to attract the attention of fans in smaller countries, where they may have a national hockey federation, but growth and development hasn’t been there in order to be competitive at IIHF events such as the lower divisions of the World Championship, World Juniors and Under-18s.
Having NHL players at the Olympics and then hosting the World Cup will also drive more fans to the game of hockey and hopefully, will inspire the next Connor McDavid, Auston Matthews or Victor Hedman and these tournaments will have a positive effect on the future of the sport we love.
For all the hate Gary Bettman and the league get at times, they knocked it out of the park with the 4 Nations Face-Off and we’re entering an exciting period for the NHL in terms of international competition with 3 Winter Olympics and 2 World Cups on the schedule over the next nine years.
- 2026 Winter Olympics – Milano-Cortina, Italy.
- 2028 World Cup of Hockey – TBD.
- 2030 Winter Olympics – French Alps, France.
- 2032 World Cup of Hockey – TBD.
- 2034 Winter Olympics – Salt Lake City, Utah.
As players return to their respective National Hockey League clubs, those who participated at the 4 Nations Face-Off have left some incredible memories for fans of the sport and it’s safe to say that the game we love is in a much better place now than it was even just a few years ago.