The Ice Hockey World Championships start on Friday in Prague and Ostrava. The 87th title fights are once again attracting big names from the NHL.
For two years it took place Ice Hockey World Championship took place in Tampere, Finland, as well as in Helsinki and Riga. Nothing against the ice hockey-crazy cities, but in 2024 the tournament of the world’s 16 best nations will again reach a dimension that was used to before Corona. The Czech ice hockey metropolis starts on Friday Threshold and in Ostrau with the preliminary round of the 87th title fights.
There will be more stars on the ice than at previous tournaments. There are various reasons for this. On the one hand, in the past season the game schedules in the top leagues were no longer as crowded and the end of the season was as in National Hockey League not so late. This means that players who were eliminated in the first pay-off round can travel to Europe in peace. Even for stars who will be eliminated in the second round, taking part in the World Cup still pays off for quarter-final candidates.
Another reason why the World Cup has become more attractive to players is that, in contrast to the last two Olympic Games, the NHL is considering a break in 2026 so that NHL professionals can take part. The NHL also plans to reintroduce the World Cup of Hockey. This was a prestigious NHL tournament for the top eight nations in the world. A test competition with four teams will take place in 2025. This also increases the pressure: players who want to take part in the really big tournaments can also recommend taking part in the World Cup in the Czech Republic.
The promises
Even though the Russian stars around Alex Ovetschkin are of course not allowed to play and not all teams have made their squad lists public yet, ice hockey fans can look forward to some big names.
One that has been regularly in the headlines in recent years is Connor Bedard, who tested against Austria with Team Canada in Vienna on Sunday. The 18-year-old from Chicago will shape the NHL in the next decade, as only legends like Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby have done so far. Incidentally, the latter was expected to be Bedard’s teammate in Vienna and next week in Prague. But the 36-year-old canceled.
According to the first mentions, the Swedes have a team that should play for gold. Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh) was one of the best defenders in the world for years, plus that Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo) as well as world champion and Stanley Cup champion Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay).
The USA, which is otherwise more talented at the World Cup, is sending a team into the race that will have a say in the medals. One of the stars is Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk37-time goal scorer in the NHL this season.
One of the big ones is also a 108-pound man Juraj Slafkovský in Slovakia. The 20-year-old recently played his third professional season in Montreal and had 20 goals and 30 assists in the NHL.
Vice world champion Germany had to accept a painful rejection. Star defender Moritz Seider is negotiating a lucrative contract extension with Detroit; participating in the World Cup was too big a risk.