Just like the Olympics, Summit Series, Canada Cup, World Cup and Rendez-Vouz 87′ before it, the 4 Nations Tournament this week has been some of the most compelling and must- watch TV the hockey world has seen in some time. From Overtime victories to upsets and national pride, the 4 Nations tournament has taken a simple format that every hockey parent and player grows up with (the In- Season tournament) and reached a broad global audience.
Given its amazing success, and lucky for us its not over yet, the NHL has announced the return of the World Cup of Hockey in 2028. Click on link for more details- NHL and NHLPA announce plans to hold a World Cup of Hockey in 2028
Furthermore, the NHL and NHLPA articulated its intention to have an international event every other year, meaning players from all nations will be representing their country at the Olympics again soon, in 2026.
One of the reasons these events work so well is because of hockey’s tremendous international representation. Comparative to other popular US sports, Hockey has a global appeal that stakes claim to having top players around the world from nations outside of North America, and a full global event will only increase the competition, as the 4 Nations Tournament (as great as it is), is only a fraction of the worlds greatest hockey playing countries. A full global event could potentially include NHL stars that are not represented in 4 Nations such as Leon Draisaitl (Germany), David Pastrnak (Czechia), Nico Hischier (Switzerland), Alex Ovechkin (Russia), Juraj Slafkovsky (Slovakia), and Anze Kopitar (Slovenia).
All Star events have nothing on the Best on Best International event we’ve seen this week, and it sounds like there is much more to come. So… who you got in the 4 Nations final?
By Andrew Trimble
To Purchase Andrew’s new book, The Hockey Planner, follow this link here- The Hockey Planner: A Year by Year Plan to Assist You on Your Hockey Coaching Journey: From Learn to Play to Junior Hockey: Trimble, Andrew: 9781963743395: Amazon.com: Books
