The Ottawa Senators are preparing a bid to host the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
Senators president Cyril Leeder confirmed to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch that the club is “definitely” putting a bid together. This will be the fourth World Cup of Hockey (1996, 2004, and 2016), the NHL's replacement for the Canada Cup, which was wildly popular in its day.
Ottawa is no stranger to this event, hosting games in all three of the past World Cups.
The Corel Centre, as it was known then, was one of five North American venues in 1996. Ottawa hosted three games that year, including quarter-final and semi-final games. In 2004 and 2016, Ottawa had a much lower profile but still hosted pre-tournament tilts.
2016 was the first time that all tournament games—the ones that counted—were played in one city (Toronto). According to Garrioch's report, it looks like the 2028 event will have two host cities. That probably means one in North America and one in Europe, with at least eight teams competing.
The league first announced the official return of the NHL-run World Cup back in February, just ahead of the 4 Nations Face-Off. The tourney is scheduled for February 2028, and it's all part of the league's renewed interest in true best-on-best hockey that includes the 2026 Olympics in Italy and the 2030 Olympics in France.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman outlined the vision for the next World Cup during a press conference in February.
“We are moving forward with the World Cup two years after the Olympics in 2028,” Bettman said. “We will be asking for bids on hosting games. We couldn’t be more excited about making a reality Olympics–World Cups–Olympics–World Cups on a regular schedule of the best hockey players in the world representing their countries."
The regular four-year schedule is meaningful. The sporadic nature of the Canada Cup's scheduling was bad enough, but it was nothing compared to the World Cup, which hasn't been a priority at all, disappearing for eight years, then 12 years, and now 12 years again.
While Russian players freely compete in the NHL, their status for this event remains unknown. They're probably not invited, but the event is still two and a half years away. We do know there won't be any hybrid teams like Team North America or Team Europe like there were in 2016. We also know the tourney will be played on NHL-sized rinks with NHL rules.
The competition will be fierce, and not just the games. The Sens are bidding against 31 teams and the biggest American markets. Even the most optimistic Senator fan wouldn't bet on Ottawa coming out on top when the winning bid is announced early in the new year.
We're a dark horse, to put it mildly. But in international hockey, like Denmark eliminating Canada at the Worlds this spring, you just never know.
By Steve Warne
The Hockey News/Ottawa
Mandatory Credit: Kevin Sousa-Imagn Images
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