The world’s best hockey players are headed to Alberta — and Prague.
Edmonton, Calgary and the Czech capital will host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey, the NHL announced on Monday.
Set to take place in February 2028, It will mark the tournament’s return after being dormant since 2016, when Canada won on home ice in Toronto.
However, two other best-on-best events have occurred within the last two years, with Canada winning the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 before the U.S. earned revenge with Olympic gold in February.
The round-robin will be split between Calgary and Prague, while the semifinals and final are set for Edmonton.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman visited Calgary, where a $1.2 billion event centre is slated to open in fall 2027, earlier in March.
“I don’t think there’ll be a nicer building anywhere than that,” Bettman said shortly after touring the Scotia Place construction site.
“It looks like it’s going to be a spectacular, first-class, state-of-the-art arena. I’m excited about it, and Flames fans will be excited about it when they have a chance to experience it. It’s going to be great for the City of Calgary to have this type of facility, which in addition to hosting the Flames, will be able to host concerts and other events that don’t currently come to Calgary.”
Meanwhile, the Edmonton portion of the tournament will take place at the Oilers’ home rink, Rogers Place.
The World Cup is expected to feature eight teams, with Russia’s inclusion still up in the air. Seven countries already set to compete include Canada, the U.S., Sweden, Finland, Czechia, Germany and Switzerland.
An original group of 25 applicants bid to host the tournament.
