The Ice Hockey World Cup will return for 2024.
Aleksandr Ovechkin is unlikely to be seen in the national team jersey, because Russia is excluded from international tournaments. The World Cup might bring a change to that. PDO
NHL assistant commissioner Bill Daly announced Thursday that the league’s goal is to allow the North American-led World Cup to return to the puck calendar in 2024.
The tournament, which was known as the Canada Cup until 1991, was last organized in 2016. The NHL wants the next tournament to be a tight eight-team ensemble.
But is Russia involved? In his answer, Daly took a surprisingly positive and different position with the International Ice Hockey Federation IIHF.
– We recognize the value that Russia brings to international hockey tournaments. It would be a real shame if our Russian players, who have done nothing wrong, don’t get the chance to compete in a best vs. best competition. We’d like to find a way to make sure that doesn’t happen, Daly began, continuing in a more moderate tone.
– But facts are facts. What happens in the conflict is relevant on a world scale on a moral level. We have to prepare to make the right decisions and eventually we will, but we don’t have to make them today.