NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Russia likely won’t compete in the 2028 World Cup of Hockey if the country’s war with Ukraine continues, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels.
The hockey federations of Sweden, Finland, and Czechia recently informed the NHL they wouldn’t participate in the tournament if Russia was involved. Daly didn’t confirm those reports but said the league knows how other countries feel about the issue.
“We know how they feel, and they have strong feelings about it, and quite frankly, it’s the same strong feelings we’ve expressed and the international hockey community has expressed,” Daly said Wednesday.
“I don’t think we’re out of sync with where the Finns and Swedes and Czechs are with respect to Russian participation. It’ll be available if certain things happen. And if certain things don’t happen, they’re likely not to participate.”
A reporter asked if certain things meant the war ending. Daly nodded.
The next World Cup of Hockey takes place in February 2028 across three cities: Calgary and Edmonton in Alberta, and Prague in Czechia. The tournament will feature eight teams.
Decisions on which nations participate will probably be made ahead of the 2027-28 NHL season.
Russia has been ineligible to compete in international hockey events since invading Ukraine in February 2022.
