Calgary, Edmonton, Prague to host 2028 World Cup of Hockey

The sites for the next best-on-best tournament have been decided.

At the NHL GM Meetings in Florida on Monday, it was announced that Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta, as well as Prague, Czechia have been named the host cities for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.

The 2028 World Cup will be the second best-on-best tournament hosted by the NHL this decade, as the league hopes to replicate the success of the 4 Nations Face-Off last February.

The last time Calgary hosted a best-on-best game was during the 1984 Canada Cup. The decision to include the city comes with the eventual opening of Scotia Place, the future home of the Calgary Flames, which is set to open its doors in 2027.

Edmonton was also part of that tournament 42 years ago, as well as the ’81 Canada Cup. The city has hosted a few IIHF World Junior Championships since Rogers Place, the Edmonton Oilers‘ home rink, was opened in 2017.

Prague has hosted games held in Czechia during the 1996 and 2004 World Cups, as well as a pre-tournament game in 2016.

The World Cup is part of a long-term international calendar that the NHL announced a little over a year ago. Along with the NHLers committed to competing in the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics, the league will host a pair of World Cups, including the fifth World Cup scheduled for 2032. This marks the first true, well-planned layout for best-on-best hockey since the late 1970s, when the Canada Cup ran from 1977 to 1991.

The World Cup of Hockey was introduced in 1996 to replace the Canada Cup, but the second tournament wasn’t held until 2004, which came right before the NHL work stoppage that season. There wasn’t another World Cup until 2016, when a revamped eight-team tournament was held, including the rather popular Team North America and Team Europe squads, with the latter making it all the way to the championship series.

The 2028 event will mark the first time since 2004 that the NHL will host international tournament games in Europe. The 1996 and 2004 World Cups each had a European pool, with Finland, Sweden, Czechia and Germany all hosting games in the group stage.

Canada won the past two editions of the World Cup, with the United States taking home the title in a thrilling conclusion 30 years ago.