2016 World Cup of Hockey schedule, format revealed
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey will take place Sept. 17-Oct. 1, 2016 in Toronto, Ontario, featuring six national teams and two mixed all-star teams.
By
Chris Peters
•
2 min read
We’ve known for months now that the World Cup of Hockey was coming back in September 2016, but now hockey fans who like to plan in advance can begin marking their calendars for the big matchups next fall. The NHL and NHLPA announced Wednesday the full schedule for the two-week event, which will take place in its entirety at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto Sept. 17 to Oct. 1, 2016.
The tournament will feature six national teams and two mixed all-star teams featuring some of the NHL’s best players. Canada, the United States, the Czech Republic, Russia, Finland and Sweden will all ice their regular international squads. Team Europe will consist of the best NHL players whose home countries were not invited to the tournament (expect a lot of Slovakians and Swiss). Team North America will feature the best U.S. and Canadian players aged 23 or younger by Oct. 1, 2016. Those players won’t be eligible for selection for their respective national teams, even if they’re good enough to make it (sorry, Brandon Saad).
The NHL and NHLPA has already broken up the teams into two preliminary-round groups, Group A and Group B.
Group A will consist of Canada, the Czech Republic, Team Europe and the U.S., while Group B will feature Finland, Team North America, Russia and Sweden.
The preliminary round is set to begin Sept. 17, 2016. The top two teams in each group following round-robin play will advance to the semifinals, which will take place Sept. 24 and 25. First place in Group B will play second place in Group A and first place in Group A will take on the second-place finisher in Group B.
The final will be a best-of-3 starting on Sept. 27, with Game 3 played on Oct. 1 if it is necessary (hopefully it is).
All hockey fans across North America will likely be tuned in on Sept. 20, 2016, when the U.S. and Canada will square off in a best-on-best for the first time since Canada's 1-0 win in the semifinals at the 2014 Winter Olympics. That date will also feature fierce rivals Sweden and Finland squaring off earlier that afternoon.
Additionally, the United States will have the duty of kicking off the tournament with the first game on Sept. 17. The Americans will meet Team Europe to get things going.
The tournament will be broadcast in its entirety on ESPN in the United States. The full broadcast schedule will be announced at a later date, though.
Here’s the full schedule via the NHL:
| 2016 World Cup of Hockey Schedule | |||
| Date | Team | Team | Time (ET) |
| Sept. 17 | Team Europe | USA | 3:30 p.m. |
| Canada | Czech Republic | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 18 | Russia | Sweden | 3 p.m. |
| Finland | Team North America | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 19 | Czech Republic | Team Europe | 3 p.m. |
| Team North America | Russia | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 20 | Finland | Sweden | 3 p.m. |
| Canada | USA | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 21 | Team North America | Sweden | 3 p.m. |
| Canada | Team Europe | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 22 | Finland | Russia | 3 p.m. |
| Czech Republic | USA | 8 p.m. | |
| Sept. 24 | Semifinal 1 | TBD | TBD |
| Sept. 25 | Semifinal 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Sept. 27 | Final Game 1 | TBD | TBD |
| Sept. 29 | Final Game 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Oct. 1 | Final Game 3 | TBD | TBD |
