The city of Chicago would be a great host for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey. The Chicago Blackhawks would be a great help in making that work.
The National Hockey League held a press conference ahead of the Four Nations Faceoff on Wednesday night in Montreal. The presser was mainly focused on a special announcement that they made involving best-on-best hockey.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman announced that the World Cup of Hockey is going to return in 2028. They want the World Cup to happen every four years which would allow best-on-best hockey to happen once every two years between that and the Olympics.
Bettman confirmed that at least eight teams will participate and they will all be individual countries. There won't be anything like Team Europe or Team North America as they did in the past.
Part of the announcement is that there will be bidding to host the event. Chicago is a city that would be perfect. They will have to compete with some of the other big cities in North America along with some of the great hockey towns in Europe to win a bid.
Between the United Center and Fifth Third Arena, Chicago has what it needs to host an event like this. It is a world-class city that has lodging, food, and space.
The hockey passion in town is there as well. By 2028, the Chicago Blackhawks should be in a much better spot organizationally than they are right now. Connor Bedard will be seen as a full-blown star by then and likely a premier player on Team Canada. Marketing the event around him when it comes to his country would work well.
There are also going to be other players on the Blackhawks who could be involved by then as well. Between the potential excitement for hockey in the city and the potential for it to be a premier hosting spot, it’s a no-brainer for the league.
The NHL loves hosting Winter Classics and Stadium Series games in Chicago. Now would be a great time to start thinking about it as the home of an international event.
Being one of the hosts for the 2028 World Cup of Hockey would be great for Chicago, a top-four sports city in the world.
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