After 12 years in hiding, the World Cup of Hockey is almost here! Well, unless you count the pre-tournament exhibition games so far. It seems as though there are many unanswered questions about the logistics of this The tournament starts on September 17
- All games will be played in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre
- There are 8 teams involved – the Big 6 (Canada, USA, Russia, Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic), along with team North America (under 23 years olds only), and team Europe (which consists of all European players not apart of the Big 6)
- Connor McDavid MAY be the best player in the tournament
- Team North America will play the Canadian and American national anthems before their games. Team Europe will have no national anthem.
- This is an NHL sanctioned tournament, and the 3rd time it’s taken place (previous years were 1996 and 2004)
- Despite being an NHL event, suspensions DO NOT carry over into the NHL season. I repeat, DO NOT carry over into the NHL season. This means that a player can Marty Mcsorley an opponent and have no NHL season repercussion.
- Groups and TV schedule:
Group A
Team Canada
Team Czech Republic
Team Europe
Team USA
Group B
Team Finland
Team North America
Team Russia
Team Sweden
Preliminary Round (round robin) (away team listed first)
All games at Air Canada Centre, Toronto
Saturday, Sept. 17
Team USA vs. Team Europe, 3:30 p.m., ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Canada, 8 p.m., ESPNEWS, SN, TVA Sports
Sunday, Sept. 18
Team Sweden vs. Team Russia, 3 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Team North America vs. Team Finland, 8 p.m., ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports
Monday, Sept. 19
Team Europe vs. Team Czech Republic, 3 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Team Russia vs. Team North America, 8 p.m., ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports
Tuesday, Sept. 20
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Team Canada vs. Team USA, 8 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Wednesday, Sept. 21
Team North America vs. Team Sweden, 3 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Team Europe vs. Team Canada, 8 p.m., ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports
Thursday, Sept. 22
Team Finland vs. Team Russia, 3 p.m., ESPN, SN, TVA Sports
Team USA vs. Team Czech Republic, 8 p.m., ESPN2, SN, TVA Sports
Semifinals (single elimination; A1 vs. B2, B1 vs. A2)
Saturday, Sept. 24
Semifinal 1, 7 p.m., ESPN2, CBC, TVA Sports
Sunday, Sept. 25
Semifinal 2, 1 p.m., ESPN, CBC, TVA Sports
Final (best-of-three)
Tuesday, Sept. 27
Final Game 1, 8 p.m., ESPN, CBC, TVA Sports
Thursday, Sept. 29
Final Game 2, 8 p.m., ESPN2, CBC, TVA, TVA Sports
Saturday, Oct. 1
Final Game 3, 7 p.m. (if necessary), ESPN2, CBC, TVA, TVA Sports
Source: https://www.nhl.com/news/2016-world-cup-of-hockey-schedule-announced/c-778411