All articles tagged with #international hockey
The 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship begins in Minnesota with opening games featuring top prospects and strong teams like the USA, Canada, Sweden, Finland, Germany, and Czechia, highlighting key players and matchups on Day 1.
The NHL and NHLPA are in ongoing discussions about a new Collective Bargaining Agreement, with no formal ratification underway yet. The league is also exploring expansion opportunities, international efforts including Olympics participation, and plans to bring back the World Cup of Hockey in 2028. Additionally, Nashville Predators' owner Bill Haslam is set to increase his stake in the team, and the league reports that the game is in good shape.
Five Minnesota Wild players have been selected to represent their countries in the 4 Nations Face-Off, an international hockey tournament featuring teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the USA. The players include Matt Boldy and Brock Faber for the USA, Jonas Brodin, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Filip Gustavsson for Sweden. The tournament will take place in February 2025 at the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston, following NHL rules and a round-robin format.
The NHL and NHLPA are organizing the 4 Nations Face-Off, a round-robin tournament featuring national teams from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States, to be held from February 12-20, 2024, in Montreal and Boston. This event replaces the NHL All-Star Game for the season and serves as a precursor to the 2026 Olympics, marking the first best-on-best international tournament with NHL players since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. The tournament format includes a final between the top two teams, and players are enthusiastic about the opportunity to represent their countries.
NHL players are set to return to the Winter Olympics in 2026 and 2030 after an agreement was announced by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman, NHL Players’ Association executive director Marty Walsh, and International Ice Hockey Federation President Luc Tardif. The agreement also includes the creation of a 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in 2025 featuring the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. The NHL's long-term goal is to have a full-fledged World Cup every four years, providing players with regular best-on-best competition opportunities.
The NHL has committed to sending its players to the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy and announced a new four-team midseason tournament called the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025, featuring the U.S., Canada, Sweden, and Finland. The league and NHLPA have also formalized plans for NHL players to participate in international tournaments every two years, including the Olympics and a potential World Cup of Hockey in 2028. Russia's participation in these events remains uncertain due to the IIHF's ban on teams from Russia and Belarus following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
NHL players will participate in the Olympics in 2026 and 2030, marking their return to the international competition after a hiatus since 2014. The decision was met with excitement from players, including stars like Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon, who have long awaited the opportunity to represent their countries on the Olympic stage. The NHL will also hold the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and alternate the World Cup of Hockey and the Olympics every two years afterward, signaling the return of best-on-best international hockey.