The World Cup of Hockey is heading back to Canada in 2028, and Edmonton will be one of the hosts. The NHL and NHLPA have confirmed a three-city format split between Calgary, Edmonton, and Prague for the eight-team tournament, with Alberta taking center stage in North America and the Czech capital serving as the European hub. Furthermore, Edmonton has been awarded the semifinals and the championship game, which instantly places it at the heart of the tournament’s biggest moments.
Calgary and Prague complete a transcontinental edition
Edmonton’s place in the event was presented as one of the headline items of the official announcement. The NHL said Calgary and Edmonton would be the North American host cities, while Prague would act as the European host for the best-on-best competition. Commissioner Gary Bettman said the league “couldn’t be more excited,” and the league later confirmed that Calgary’s Scotia Place and Prague’s O2 Arena will stage the round-robin phase, while Edmonton takes over for the deciding matches. That structure gives Edmonton the climatic stretch of the tournament rather than just a share of early games.
There is also something ambitious about the design of this edition. A 17-game tournament played over 13 days is already tight, but doing so across two continents and three cities adds another layer. Prague gives the competition a European foothold, while Calgary and Edmonton turn Alberta into a twin-host showcase for international hockey. The NHL and NHLPA are selling that blend of local passion and global reach: Marty Walsh said the fan experience in Calgary, Edmonton, and Prague is going to be special, and Bettman underlined that the event will unfold in “state-of-the-art buildings.” It’s a logistical challenge, but also the kind of format that makes the tournament feel bigger than a single-site event.
Do we know if Rogers Place will host it?
At the same time Edmonton was announced as one of the hosting cities, Rogers Place was confirmed as the chosen arena for the two semifinals and the final. The NHL’s main announcement says so, and the Oilers’ release repeats that Rogers Place will stage the decisive games of the competition.
From a venue standpoint, Rogers Place fits the brief perfectly. Our home is a modern, event-ready building in the middle of ICE District. On its official site, Rogers Place describes itself as a world-class venue with capacity for up to 20,000 fans, along with advanced broadcast facilities and integration with Ford Hall and ICE District Plaza for large-scale festivals and major events. As a state-of-the-art venue, its connectivity is top-notch, guaranteeing both mass media and visitors perfect internet access for both the matches’ retransmission and surfing internet during the games, allowing checking the live game stats or playing online casino games during halftime.
The technical guide of the arena lists hockey seating at 18,347, with 9,395 seats in the lower bowl and 6,816 in the upper bowl. Those figures, plus its experience as one of the NHL’s 2020 Hub Cities, make it an obvious fit for a final weekend meant to feel like a global hockey showpiece.
Connor McDavid in the announcement
For the first announcement of the tournament, the NHL recorded a video featuring Czech star David Pastrnak, Calgary-born Cale Makar and our captain Connor McDavid, a trio chosen to represent each of the host markets in a simple and effective way. McDavid’s inclusion gave the Edmonton leg and immediate weight as one of the faces of the Oilers and one of the defining figures of this era of international hockey.
He also reinforced the point once the news became official. Speaking in Edmonton, McDavid said it will be nice to play in Canada, in Edmonton and Calgary, and added that everyone knows how passionate the fans are because the players see it firsthand throughout the season and in the spring. That follow-up matters almost as much as the video itself. It ties the announcement to the city’s current hockey identity: a market built around a superstar captain, a packed arena and a fan base that already treats big games like national events. By 2028, Edmonton will not just be hosting the World Cup of Hockey. It will be staging its biggest nights.
