The 2028 World Cup of Hockey is coming to Edmonton [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers], Calgary [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/calgary-flames] and Prague. The NHL and NHLPA announced the host venues on Monday for the eight-nation best-on-best tournament scheduled for February 2028. Rogers Place in Edmonton, the under-construction Scotia Place in Calgary and the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia, will host the games. Calgary, which is expected to have Scotia Place fully constructed by then, and Prague will each host six round-robin games and one elimination game. Edmonton will host the semifinals and championship game. There will be two groups of four teams [https://x.com/FriedgeHNIC/status/2033591853358907558?s=20]. At the end of round-robin play, the first-place team in the group gets a bye to the semifinals, the fourth-place team is eliminated, and the second- and third-place teams play for a spot in the semifinals. "There is no international competition in sports that matches the passion, skill, and excitement of hockey's best-on-best coming together to represent their countries – last year's 4 Nations Face-Off and the recent Winter Olympics were just the latest examples," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said in the announcement. "We at the National Hockey League and our partners at the National Hockey League Players' Association can't wait to bring the World Cup of Hockey 2028 to three spectacular venues in three cities that shine when staging big events." Monday's announcement comes about eight months after the expression-of-interest phase for host cities and venues began in June 2025. A total of 28 cities across North America and Europe wanted to host the tournament. Bettman originally said one venue in North America and one venue in Europe would host the action. Calgary and Edmonton were a joint Alberta bid and split their share of the games. "Calgary, Edmonton and Prague are cities with very deep roots in hockey, and the games will be played in three hockey venues that will be amongst the best in the world," said Marty Walsh, the NHLPA's executive director. Four World Cup Of Hockey Storylines To Follow Long Before 2028 [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/82a36223-d075-4c10-8aab-d00685f76673.jpeg] Four World Cup Of Hockey Storylines To Follow Long Before 2028 Now that the 2026 Olympics are in the rearview mirror, best-on-best men's hockey returns in 2028 with the NHL and NHLPA's World Cup of Hockey. Which storylines can we follow two years in advance? [https://thehockeynews.com/news/latest-news/four-world-cup-of-hockey-storylines-to-follow-long-before-2028] Here's more on each host venue and city. ROGERS PLACE, EDMONTON Rogers Place has been in the spotlight a lot. Not only has it featured the Edmonton Oilers battling in back-to-back Stanley Cup finals, but it's also hosted the World Junior Championship in 2022 and 2021, after co-hosting it in 2012 with Calgary. The city is also co-hosting the 2027 world juniors with Red Deer and the 2026 Hlinka Gretzky Cup. The arena, which opened in time for the 2015-16 NHL season and is located in downtown Edmonton, has a capacity of 18,347 people, according to hockey-reference.com [https://www.hockey-reference.com/friv/attendance.cgi]. SCOTIA PLACE, CALGARY The Calgary Flames are looking to move out of the Saddledome and into their new home by 2027-28. Scotia Place is expected to sit 18,400 people and be the centerpiece of the city's culture and entertainment district. The city hosted the 2021 women's World Championship without fans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It also co-hosted the 2012 world juniors. O2 ARENA, PRAGUE Prague, Czechia's capital, has hosted the second-most NHL regular-season games outside of North America, with nine. Their Global Series game on Oct. 4, 2019, between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers is the second-most-attended NHL game outside of North America, at 17,463 people. Prague also hosted the men's World Championship in 2024, 2015 and 2004. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Image [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8127be64-29a5-4c3a-8ebc-51fffbeb115e.jpeg] For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free [https://thehockeynews.store/products/print-subscription?_gl=1*bxdaft*_ga*NDAxOTY4NTMuMTc1NTg5NTA0Mg..*_ga_ZET34ZFCGX*czE3NzMwMDIwMjkkbzE3OSRnMSR0MTc3MzAwMzQ5NSRqMzIkbDAkaDA.]. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here [http://eepurl.com/i7OC4I]. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
