• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
International Hockey
World Cup

The World Cup of Hockey Tutorial

By James Caldwell September 16th, 2016

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

For those who cannot remember, hockey used to be on ESPN. Thanks to the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, hockey is officially back on the cable giant, giving us goosebumps once again as we listen to this beauty of a theme song:

On Saturday, Sept. 17, eight international teams will compete in a round-robin style tournament in order to determine the best hockey country in the world. With questions looming over future NHL player participation in the Olympics, the WCH is aiming to provide hockey fans with an international competition similar to soccer’s World Cup. While plenty of opponents of the WCH complain about the tournament being a shameless cash grab or just a complete waste of time, most hockey fans will rejoice as competitive hockey comes a month early and even the pre-tournament games showcased some bad blood:

However, while many have probably heard about this tournament at least once with the corny commericials on ESPN, what exactly is this tournament all about?

1996

The inaugural year of the WCH was instituted to allow hockey fans around the globe an opportunity to witness the best players in the world represent their countries. Since NHL players were not allowed to compete in the Olympics until 1998, the tournament was a welcome site for those who loved international hockey.

Orchestrating an upset

Mike Richter lifting the trophy at the 1996 World Cup. Sg via NHL Network

The first WCH brought about a monumental victory for the United States. Not quite the same as the “Miracle on Ice,” but still significant nonetheless. Our own Dustin Nelson wrote a piece describing the NHL Network’s “Orchestrating an Upset” documentary. Aside from the surprise upset win, the tournament was designed to replace the Canada Cup which ran from 1976-1991. A brief description of that event can be found here. At the time, Canada and the USA were joined by Sweden, Finland, Czech Republic, Russia, Germany, and Slovakia.

A second tournament was played in 2004, where Canada defeated Finland for the championship. Unlike the 2016 version where all games are being played in Toronto, the prior two were separated into two groups: North American and European pool, where all games in the European pool were played overseas.

2016

This year brings about a bit of a different flavor to the tournament. No longer under IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation) rules, all games will be played in Toronto under NHL rules, and the tournament will now be run by the NHL and NHLPA. Besides the usual suspects (Canada, Sweden, Finland, USA, Czech Republic, and Russia), two new teams will be present: Team North America and Team Europe. Team North America consists of 23-and-under players from North America, while Team Europe is made up of the remaining players not from the above mentioned European countries.

Drew Doughty, 2016 World Cup of Hockey, World Cup of Hockey

(Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports)

Group A is made up of Canada, Czech Republic, USA, and Europe while Group B consists of Sweden, Finland, North America, and Russia. Each team will play each other in their respective groups, with the top two from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The winner of the semi-final games advances to the finals, where they will compete in a best-of-three series.

Regardless of what you think of the event, the fact is there will be competitive hockey being played in September instead of October. While coaches, GMs, and fans of those participating in the event will collectively hold their breaths as their players take a hit, hockey fans will still tune in to watch what should be an entertaining and outstanding display of hockey. And with each team participating in three pre-tournament games, all participants should have much of the rust from the summer off their shoulder pads.

Remember, for all of your WCH needs, make sure to check out THW’s WCH page.


The Hockey Writers coverage of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 is being brought to you by PrimeSport, the official Fan Travel & Hospitality Package Partner of the World Cup of Hockey 2016.

  • Tags
  • Canada Cup
  • IIHF
  • World Cup of Hockey
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 20th 5:35 PM
Column

Islanders Weekly: Shutouts, Injury Scares & Scoring Concerns

Jan 20th 4:33 PM
Archives

2010 NHL Entry Draft: 5 Forgotten Picks

Jan 20th 4:15 PM
Vegas Golden Knights

3 Pros and 3 Cons to Golden Knights’ Goalie Split

Jan 20th 4:05 PM
Florida Panthers

Panthers Offense Flourishes but Goaltending & Special Teams Need Work

Jan 20th 3:15 PM
Column

Red Wings Wednesday Weekly: Hockey is Back Everyone!

Jan 20th 2:35 PM
Chicago Blackhawks

Blackhawks Seeing Hot Starts From Some but Serious Concerns Linger

Jan 20th 2:20 PM
NHL Entry Draft

2021 NHL Draft Rankings: Baracchini’s Top 75 Rankings

Jan 20th 1:50 PM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers’ Goaltending & Defense Among Standouts Through Week 1

Jan 20th 1:37 PM
Archives

Jets’ 5 Greatest U.S.-born Players

Jan 20th 1:15 PM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers Bounce Back Against Sabres but Lineup Questions Remain

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information