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NHL intends once again to restore the Hockey World Cup. Several meetings have already taken place with representatives of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) and the shape of the entire tournament is slowly starting to take shape.
The World Cup was first played in 1996, then in 2004 and most recently in 2016. The fourth time is scheduled for February 2024. “We are going full steam, we have regular meetings”, one of the commissioners said this week NHL Bill Daly.
The shape of the tournament is unclear, but we know the answers to some questions. In 2016 there were 8 teams, of which six national and two hybrid: the European team and the North American team with players under the age of 23. In addition to them, Canada, the United States, Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Russia.
The European team represented Austria, Denmark, France, Germany, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland. The tournament was won by Canada, which in the final defeated the surprise of the whole tournament: the choice of Europe.
The management of the NHL has already stated that there will be no more hybrid teams and that at the tournament we will only see representatives of the individual countries. Eight of them will play in the main competition, but a qualification is also being considered, in which two more teams would be invited. There would be 10 in total, of which eight would emerge. And they will play the main competition. It is still debatable how exactly it would work in practice.
“We think about the future. Our plan is to organize a qualifying tournament during the season. If we qualify, given the short time until February 2024, it will be part of the main tournament”, revealed Bill Daly.
A question mark also hovers over Russia’s participation. The NHL has cut off all business contact with him, but it is questionable whether the Super League would hold a tournament without all of the Russian NHL stars.
We also don’t know how Slovakia will fare. Logically we can speak of certain participation with Canada, USA, Finland, Sweden and the Czech Republic. Slovakia, Germany and Switzerland should follow immediately behind them. Our participation can also be greatly helped by the new generation of players taking root in the NHL. If, for example, Juraj Slafkovský and Šimon Nemec became the stars of the teams, Slovakia’s position would certainly improve.
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YOU ARE ALSO IN EUROPE
The entire tournament is expected to take place within 15 days, two of which are reserved for travel. The plan is to play in two groups: one would play in North America and the other in Europe. The playoff matches will therefore only take place abroad.
“We still want to play a band in Europe and one in North America. We would therefore like to play the semifinals and finals in other cities in North America. It should be about traditional hockey markets.” Commissioner Bill Daly said.
In 2016, the entire tournament took place in Toronto, the previous two years in different cities. In 1996 there was a European group: Sweden, Finland, the Czech Republic and Germany. They played in Stockholm, Helsinki, Prague and Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
The United States, Canada, Russia and Slovakia have played overseas. In particular in Vancouver, Philadelphia, Montreal, Ottawa and New York. The play-offs were played in Montreal, Ottawa and Philadelphia.
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The same bands were also there in 2004. Zámorská has played in Montreal, Minnesota and Toronto. European in the same cities as before, only Garmisch has replaced Cologne. The quarter-finals were different. The groups did not cross and the European group played with each other in Helsinki and Stockholm. Then they moved abroad. In 2016, only the top two teams in the standings passed and the semifinals were played.
It is questionable what it will be like in 2024 and which exact system will be chosen. However, we know that the NHL wanted some European group games to be played in Prague. There, however, he met with resistance from the local union, as the world championships in the “hundred” will also be held in the same year.
“It certainly wouldn’t help us financially if x games with NHL players were held here a few months before the World Cup. The Czech market is not rich enough to allow people to pay that much for both actions. That’s the problem. principal.
It seems entirely logical, which is why the executive committee asked me to write an official letter to the IIHF that the association does not agree that the tournament will be held in Prague in 2024, or that it will be in a country that does not organizes the World Championship in the same year “. explained in May this year for iDnes.cz general secretary of the union Martin Urban.
HC Sparta Prague O2 Arena sold out Jan17 hcsparta.cz
Source: hcsparta.cz
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Despite opposition from the Czech Federation, matches in Prague can be held, but the NHL will have to organize them on its own. This is also why the Czechs have turned to the IIHF, which is negotiating with the NHL, for help.
Several meetings have already taken place, the last one a few days ago in Paris. President Luc Tardiff negotiates for the IIHF and the Czech Republic is represented by IIHF Vice President Petr Bříza. We also asked him for an interview, but he said no “There is still nothing to comment. Everything is right at the level of the negotiations and the possibilities of the World Cup. There was only an information meeting in Paris”.
The Hockey World Cup will likely cause positive responses in most cases, but there have already been negative ones. Especially since the Olympic Games are taking place on the same date, which the NHL has not allowed its players to in recent years. Hockey players should go to the World Cup, as it will be organized by the same professional league.
“They want to hear us say that yes, we can’t wait. Obviously we can’t wait. I want to play against the best players in the world and the World Cup is a great opportunity to do that. But it could very well have been at the Olympics, where not. we could go “, said for iSport.cz unnamed czech hockey player.
See also how Juraj Slafkovský enjoyed training:
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