Russian’s to participate in Rest of World team at 2027 All-Star Game; no decision on World Cup
As the NHL embarks on its marquee annual event, the Stanley Cup Final, the exact composition if it’s next major international event, the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, is still up in the air.
Russia, one of international hockey’s most prestigious and powerful nations, has been banned from competing in IIHF-santioned tournaments since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The NHL has so far followed the IIHF’s lead in this regard, as they did not include Russia in the NHL-organized 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025.
However, the IIHF released a statement on May 29th indicating they are re-evaluating their ban on Russia for the 2026-27 season. This poses the question as to whether the NHL is considering bring Russia back into the fold for their next World Cup of Hockey, which is set for 2028.
In a press conference given ahead of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly spoke about Russian’s status for upcoming NHL-organized international competitions.
“We’ll obviously be following how they approach that process and what they do,” said Daly regarding the IIHF’s decision on Russia. “It’ll be relevant to what we do.”
Bettman echoed Daly’s comments about how the NHL’s decison will be effected but the IIHF’s.
“I don’t think there’s complete clarity on what they’ve done and what it means,’ said Bettman. “So that’s why we’re going to have to wait and see further.”
Daly did confirm that Russian NHLers will be able to participate in the 2027 All-Star Game, and will compete on the Rest of World team in the planned 3-on-3 tournament.
When asked if Russian players will be part of the "rest of world" team at the 2027 All-Star Game, Bill Daly said "yes"
Daly also mentioned that there is little concern about other nations boycotting tournaments based on Russia’s inclusion or lack thereof.
“(The IIHF) don’t anticipate a problem with the Russians or the Swedes and Finns necessarily, or Czechs right now, in terms of a boycott if it comes to that,” Daly said. “But again, we’re getting a little too far ahead of ourselves because they haven’t made any determinations with respect to whether any of the international tournaments scheduled for 2026-27 that the Russians are going to participate in. So we’re going to monitor what goes on there. We’re not going to be bound by it, but we’re going to monitor it. And it’ll be relevant to our process in determining the World Cup of Hockey.”