Bettman Confirms World Cup in 2028 (At Least 8 Nations)

[Beau Knows]

Having the whole thing in Europe would actually be fair. I mean, we have had things like Canada burying a lucky loonie in the ice when they have hosted it, Canadian fans causing fake fire alarms at the hotel of the opposing team the night before the game and.. - they would never have melted the ice and allowed Sweden to bury a lucky 1 Kronor in the ice.

So as it has been until now, the "Canada Cup/World Cup" has never been fair

How is a loonie under the ice unfair? It's just a silly good luck gesture, it doesn't have any impact on the game.

 

[NyQuil]

How is a loonie under the ice unfair? It's just a silly good luck gesture, it doesn't have any impact on the game.

And it never happened at the Canada Cup or World Cup.

The real advantages that Canada (and the US to some extent) get, are:
-NHL refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Smaller sized ice surfaces
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

Incidentally, these are basically the same advantages that hosting European teams get at the World Championships.
-IIHF refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Larger sized ice surfaces (traditionally)
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

And it never happened at the Canada Cup or World Cup.

The real advantages that Canada (and the US to some extent) get, are:
-NHL refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Smaller sized ice surfaces
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

Incidentally, these are basically the same advantages that hosting European teams get at the World Championships.
-IIHF refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Larger sized ice surfaces (traditionally)
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

I swear I remember talk about it back in the early 2000's World Cup of Hockey. A quick google only found this yahoo article - Lucky loonie is a cute Canadian superstition, but that’s all but I am convinced I read about it on the TSN website back in the day

 

[NyQuil]

I swear I remember talk about it back in the early 2000's World Cup of Hockey. A quick google only found this yahoo article - Lucky loonie is a cute Canadian superstition, but that’s all but I am convinced I read about it on the TSN website back in the day

You really are a superstitious person if you think a coin in the ice makes a difference in the game.

Russia managed to win despite the coin being in the ice in 2008.

A lucky dime was used at the World Junior tournament held in Halifax in 2003, because the dime coin has a picture of the Bluenose sailing ship which is a source of pride for Nova Scotia.

Canada lost that tournament in the Finals to the Russians as well.

Good-luck charm hidden under ice remains mystery

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[Frank the Tank]

Having the whole thing in Europe would actually be fair. I mean, we have had things like Canada burying a lucky loonie in the ice when they have hosted it, Canadian fans causing fake fire alarms at the hotel of the opposing team the night before the game and.. - they would never have melted the ice and allowed Sweden to bury a lucky 1 Kronor in the ice.

So as it has been until now, the "Canada Cup/World Cup" has never been fair

Didn't realize I jumped in a time machine to before the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Canada can't win on European ice, without home fans, and without NHL refs... then they proceed to dominate a best-on-best tournament.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

Well, the “World” Championships have never been fair for North American teams.

Its been held in North America once in a hundred years?



We've been the victims of the fake fire alarm thing as well, it's not like it's a Canadian thing. Happens every time Canada plays soccer in Central America.

Regarding the World Championships, firstly different contest, secondly it's like the joke of the man who goes to church and prays to win the lottery. On the third week of praying a mighty voice booms down from the heavens, at least buy a lottery ticket!

I don't know if Hockey Canada prefer to have the World Juniors every second year and thats why they don't apply, or because it conflicts with the Stanley Cup playoffs - but it is quite evident that they have not even proposed to host the tournament most of the years. Note, most of the years, I would wager at least some times they have floated the idea but couldn't find info on how often have they asked seriously.

 

[NyQuil]

Regarding the World Championships, firstly different contest, secondly it's like the joke of the man who goes to church and prays to win the lottery. On the third week of praying a mighty voice booms down from the heavens, at least buy a lottery ticket!

I don't know if Hockey Canada prefer to have the World Juniors every second year and thats why they don't apply, or because it conflicts with the Stanley Cup playoffs - but it is quite evident that they have not even proposed to host the tournament most of the years. Note, most of the years, I would wager at least some times they have floated the idea but couldn't find info on how often have they asked seriously.

The entire reason that the Canada Cup and World Cup exist at all is because the World Championships aren't fulfilling their purpose as far as providing an even playing field for teams on both continents.

Canada became pretty jaded once the Soviet Union started sending their professional "amateurs" to the World Championships while NHL players were excluded.

It's taken a long time for interest to be renewed in it, but it will never be that popular as it takes place at a time of year where many players can't participate, club hockey is at its most important stage of the season, and the games are on in the morning or afternoon.

The IIHF prefers to have Canada hosting the World Juniors every second year because of the boatload of income that it generates for them. It's a huge cash cow and as someone who lives in Ottawa, insanely expensive for watching kids play hockey. I suspect the World Championships make a lot more money in Europe than they would here.

As it stands, the World Championships are not fair. Whether it's Canada's fault or not, they never have any of the benefits that European teams do. And that's fine, Canada still manages to win once in awhile.
Just like the Soviet Union won the Canada Cup in 1981, and the USA won the World Cup in 1996.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

Didn't realize I jumped in a time machine to before the 2014 Sochi Olympics.

Canada can't win on European ice, without home fans, and without NHL refs... then they proceed to dominate a best-on-best tournament.

I said fair - not whether or not they dominated or didn't or could only beat upon conditions XYZ or the like.

 

[Czechboy]

I think they are flying first class, which is not bad.

Well... If the Czechs are in. We will gladly fly first class to Toronto or any north american city and play all our games in North America. Canada and the US can fly first class to Prague and then fly back for playoffs. They will love Prague in February!

 

[Czechboy]

I think the most fair thing is to hold it here in NZ... Gore has a rink they can use.

Round robin on Tasmania and playoffs in Christchurch!

 

[TheTotalPackage]

To give the World Cup credence, and allow it to build its importance over time, it has to be done consistently. None of this cherry picking of doing it every 8 or 12 years whenever they want to make a bit of extra money. The 1996 World Cup was phenomenal. Too bad they botched it by not doing another one again until 2004, then 2016, and now another 12 years later in 2028.

Olympics and World Cups alternating every two years is great for the sport and us fans. I love international play, being able to see stacked teams for each country, and I think it is very important to the players that they are able to represent their country.

Get these events going, and the sport of hockey and NHL should be able to continue building. This should have been done the last 20+ years though. The quality of hockey and the prestige of these events (particularly the World Cup) would be far greater than what it is thought of now.

 

[Czechboy]

I love the opportunity to see more international hockey. My question is how do we quell the outrage should a player from a lower level league hurts an NHLer. I don't want it to happen but you know someone who is trying to make an impression to make the Olympics or just a name for themselves could easily go into business for themselves and really hurt an NHL teams chances of winning the cup. Minor thing to ponder but last nights game was awesome to see and I'd like more of it.

And it was also Theodore's last appearance. You don't need lower league guys to get injured.

 

[NyQuil]

To give the World Cup credence, and allow it to build its importance over time, it has to be done consistently. None of this cherry picking of doing it every 8 or 12 years whenever they want to make a bit of extra money. The 1996 World Cup was phenomenal. Too bad they botched it by not doing another one again until 2004, then 2016, and now another 12 years later in 2028.

Olympics and World Cups alternating every two years is great for the sport and us fans. I love international play, being able to see stacked teams for each country, and I think it is very important to the players that they are able to represent their country.

Get these events going, and the sport of hockey and NHL should be able to continue building. This should have been done the last 20+ years though. The quality of hockey and the prestige of these events (particularly the World Cup) would be far greater than what it is thought of now.

It certainly seems like a step in the right direction, but like you, I'm skeptical.

NHL owners are very narrow-minded, and they could easily change their minds by the time it's Europe's turn to host a World Cup. (or split hosting the World Cup)

They might also continue to use international hockey opportunities as a carrot and stick in their periodic CBA negotiations with the NHLPA, which is pretty shady in my opinion but they aren't rich people without being a little ruthless, using whatever leverage they can get and protecting their assets to the limit.

 

[Czechboy]

And it never happened at the Canada Cup or World Cup.

The real advantages that Canada (and the US to some extent) get, are:
-NHL refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Smaller sized ice surfaces
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

Incidentally, these are basically the same advantages that hosting European teams get at the World Championships.
-IIHF refs
-Home ice advantage in terms of facilities, scheduling
-More home fans
-Less/no travel involved
-Larger sized ice surfaces (traditionally)
-Higher profile due to broadcast times and preferred timezones

Great write-up and points. But my issue is still splitting it up amongst two continents when all the players are in North America.

I've always said it should be in Vegas or Florida. Get all the Canucks and euros to fly out somewhere nice. Fans will love it.

It's an NHL tourney so I could care less if the next ten are in North America. Hell, give it back to Hamilton. I'm all in!

But untill I see Connor McDavid and Nate in Stockholm then I will complain.
Otherwise.. this is hockey nirvana and an absolute dream come true. Best on bests every two years is amazing! No fake teams is amazing! NHL in Olympics is amazing. I love my oilers but I love international hockey a lot more.

 

[JianYang]

Russia needs to be one of the 8

They are a traditional staple and not having them in a tournament of best on best is alot like not having Canada.

The tournament immediately loses some luster, but the show will go on and there will still be some fun matchups.

 

[Raimo Sillanpää]

The entire reason that the Canada Cup and World Cup exist at all is because the World Championships aren't fulfilling their purpose as far as providing an even playing field for teams on both continents.

Canada became pretty jaded once the Soviet Union started sending their professional "amateurs" while NHL players were excluded.

It's taken a long time for interest to be renewed in it, but it will never be that popular as it takes place at a time of year where many players can't participate, and the games are on in the morning or afternoon.

The IIHF prefers to have Canada hosting the World Juniors every second year because of the boatload of income that it generates for them. It's a huge cash cow and as someone who lives in Ottawa, insanely expensive for watching kids play hockey. I suspect the World Championships make a lot more money in Europe than they would here.

As it stands, the World Championships are not fair. Whether it's Canada's fault or not, they never have any of the benefits that European teams do. And that's fine, Canada still manages to win once in awhile.
Just like the Soviet Union won the Canada Cup in 1981, and the USA won the World Cup in 1996.

But thats the whole point. Not to compare these competitions. But just to point out (through what I presumed would be innocent small examples) that the set isn't fair.

Now, home stadium/ice/grass/clay advantage is a thing in sports. Statistically home teams win more often than they lose, and pick a sport and you will find a stat to back it up be it hockey, football, rugby, grid iron, baseball, cricket (probably the most obscene home team advantage here) or even an individual sport like tennis. There's a reason English tennis players only ever look semi-decent at Wimbledon..

So Canada always playing in front of a home crowd, is not fair. That statement can be true at the same time as Canada being the greatest team to ever grace the Universe.

And yes, winning in Sochi was impressive - but they didn't win in Globen against Sweden (swop venue and opponent etc) or on a cold rainy night in Stoke.

 

[NyQuil]

Great write-up and points. But my issue is still splitting it up amongst two continents when all the players are in North America.

Well, if they are consistent with the splitting in terms of alternating the medal games between Europe and North America, then at least there's some degree of fairness.

Ultimately though, like you, I'm skeptical. NHL owners want to see their players in front of their fans in their arenas.

 

[JianYang]

It certainly seems like a step in the right direction, but like you, I'm skeptical.

NHL owners are very narrow-minded, and they could easily change their minds by the time it's Europe's turn to host a World Cup.

Yeah, the world cup is just a rebranded Canada cup with every final being played in toronto or Montreal.

It would give the tournament more credibility if it actually lived up to its name and had its final overseas once in a while.

It's sort of like concacaf which always hosts its biggest tournament games in the US.

 

[Czechboy]

They are a traditional staple and not having them in a tournament of best on best is alot like not having Canada.

The tournament immediately loses some luster, but the show will go on and there will still be some fun matchups.

Just as a counter.. hockey is going on about 120 years... Name the last international tournament that didn't have the Czechs or Czechoslovakia? I'm pretty sure we have been in every single one that I am aware of.

And the only invasion we ever had was our own in 1968.

 

[NyQuil]

But thats the whole point. Not to compare these competitions. But just to point out (through what I presumed would be innocent small examples) that the set isn't fair.

Of course it isn't fair. It isn't fair by design.

The genesis of the Canada Cup was in response to a perceived (and accurate) lack of fairness at the World Championships.

You can't talk about one without talking about the other. They are inexorably linked.

Now, home stadium/ice/grass/clay advantage is a thing in sports. Statistically home teams win more often than they lose, and pick a sport and you will find a stat to back it up be it hockey, football, rugby, grid iron, baseball, cricket (probably the most obscene home team advantage here) or even an individual sport like tennis. There's a reason English tennis players only ever look semi-decent at Wimbledon..

So Canada always playing in front of a home crowd, is not fair. That statement can be true at the same time as Canada being the greatest team to ever grace the Universe.

Do you think I'm disputing the existence of home ice advantage?

Canada has won 28 gold medals away from home at the World Championships. That is the most of any country in the world.

Ironically, they didn't win the one tournament that they did host, but still, imagine what the medal count would look like if, like you say, home ice advantage was a factor in Canada's favour for a change?

I don't see a lot of Europeans griping about the lack of fairness for this tournament, so we made our own tournament.

The Olympics represent a kind of neutral middle ground as the location varies widely and NHL players have been made available (most of the time since 1998). To me, it's still the best format for the tournament because it has increased profile, it still involves a lot of countries to improve the worldwide profile of the sport, and I think it really motivates the players to perform well for their fellow athletes and for their country's medal count.

As you can see in this thread, I'm in favour of a more neutral World Cup, because I think it would have more relevance with European teams and fans and it would increase the prestige of the tournament.

However, as it stands, I won't lose sleep if it doesn't change, because, like I've said already repeatedly, Europeans already operate a tournament where they have all the advantages, so having one at the senior level that takes place in Canada and/or the US is a nice change.

I would argue that the World Championships have become a little more "fair" as a result of the increased diversity of nationalities in the NHL. Now it's not just Canadians who are prevented from participating due to the ongoing Stanley Cup playoffs.

However, all of the other advantages (home venue, fans, timezone, travel, etc.) persist.

 

[JianYang]

Just as a counter.. hockey is going on about 120 years... Name the last international tournament that didn't have the Czechs or Czechoslovakia? I'm pretty sure we have been in every single one that I am aware of.

And the only invasion we ever had was our own in 1968.

The ideal tournament has room for Canada, Russia, USA, Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Slovakia, Switzerland and germany as staples.

I'd leave space for another team who can battle it out with other other nations for the final spot.... where presumably it will be a team like Latvia, or belarus getting in.

That's makes it 10 teams. 2 pools with 5 teams. Let's go.

 

[McMoMoney29]

I wonder how they figure out the 7-8 teams. By Olympic qualification or IIHF ranking? I was looking at the rosters of hypothetical Olympic teams and I think right now Switzerland and Germany should be 7/8 and look like they could compete with Czech and Finland best on best regularly. But that’s just me looking on paper. Slovakia is quite disappointing to see, they need Nemec and slaf to really pan out. This is all assuming Russia is playing of course. Speaking of which Belarus might be getting close to putting up a respectable roster as well.

 

[vorky]

Tampere, time to send your bid.

How will that work without the IIHF or co operation from other leagues? There aren’t enough Czech, Slovak, Swiss or German players to ice a roster of NHL players.

This. Unless the NHL pay European leagues to have a break in the middle of their seasons I don't see it happening. There aren't enough Swiss or Slovaks playing in North America to have a full roster. And I don't see the domestic European leagues take a 2+ week break when their seasons are ≈10 games from their playoffs without a hefty compensation. It wouldn't make sense.

I will reply to all of you.


There has been a tentative agreement between NHL & KHL about international schedule reform since 2012. The IIHF & European nations refused. Mandatory february break is agreed as we can see with 4 Nations & 2028 WC & Olympics. Now the KHL is outside IIHF, so it can break their season in February & finish in May.

As I see it, as one reason why the IIHF is not involved in the 2028 WC because they refused the 2012 reform. No reason to talk to them anymore.

It is 100% that the 2028 World Cup will not be in Tampere.

It would be too funny if the 2028 WC take place at SKA Arena in St.Petersburg.

 

[Boonk]

Since they can't do 8 teams with only having NHL guys playing I'm curious to see who they add on those teams for countries that won't have enough NHL players.

Euro league and AHL players.

 

[Czechboy]

least buy a lottery ticket!

Canada became pretty jaded once the Soviet Union started sending their professional "amateurs"

It's taken a long time for interest to be renewed in it,

Never heard the lottery ticket one.lol

The gap between Soviet athletes and today is what, 40 years? How long does it take?lol

I do agree with the point though... if Canada wanted a piece of the World Championships pie (or America) then they need to apply. I don't think they have. I don't think anyone in hockey Canada is in charge of 'applying for the IIHF Worlds' and if they were they are also in charge of getting coffee.lol

FTR.. I'd be totally fine with the World's alternating too!

If this best on best dream happens and we have that every 2 years then the World's are f***ed.. I'm sure someone at the IIHF has realized this and is very panicked. And not the coffee getter but the big boss. This destroys them.

Eg. how many big players will go to Sweden in between the NHL regular season, 4 nations and 2026 best on best Olympics?

If we now will have alternating best on bests and I'm an elite NHL player.. i don't even consider the World Championships in May. It may become the Euro Championships.. which, ftr, I would absolutely love!