Hockey World Cup: Latest Updates, News, Information

Hockey World Cup Kicks Off In Less Than a Month: Latest Updates, News, and Information

Hockey World Cup is set to make its long-awaited return in a little under a month when the game’s best square off head-to-head in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre. The tournament officially kicks off on September 17th, although the pre-tournament schedule begins on September 8th.

Eight teams will face-off in this international competition which will be played under NHL rules (not traditional IIHF). Among those involved: Finland, Russia, Czech Republic, Sweden, USA, Canada, Europe (remaining Euro countries), and North America (CAN/USA 23 and under).

Below we have gathered a compilation of the latest news, updates, and information pertaining to the event.

Hockey World Cup: Latest Updates/Information

Jersey Ads

It was announced back in June that the NHL would experiment with advertisements on jerseys. On Wednesday (Aug.17), NHL Public Relations tweeted a photo (found below) of Hockey World Cup uniforms with the “SAP” logo on the shoulders. SAP, a multinational software company, is the official sponsor for the tournament, and will feature ads on both home and away jerseys.

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The NHL is using the event as a testing ground to gauge fans reaction for a possible future transition. As most fans know,

Europe has long been an advocate of advertisements on jerseys, pants, helmets, basically wherever they can stick a “Skoda” ad. If you’ve ever watched Euro hockey or the Spengler Cup, it looks a little funny at first, but eventually the ads go virtually unnoticed.

Why wouldn’t the NHL experiment? After all, it’s a business, and further advertisements only increase league revenue. If even part of that money helps to elevate cap space, it can only be good for the game.

If fans want to buy a Hockey World Cup jersey, they will be ad-free. Only game worn sweaters will feature advertisements.

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Player/Puck Tracking Devices

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In Wednesday’s press conference, the NHL discussed the introduction of tracking device technology.

A tracking chip will be placed in pucks and jerseys that will follow such things as distance between players (i.e. forwards barring down on defense), ice-time, player speed, and much more.

Tracking will be used in broadcasts, and will also be made available to fans online who want a more in-depth look.

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Fan Village/Fan Festival

A free fan festival will be held in downtown Toronto at the historic Distillery District (Sept. 16 – Sept. 25). The “Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village” will be free to the public featuring all sorts of exciting events.

via NHL.com,

“The Scotiabank World Cup of Hockey Fan Village schedule will feature a diverse mix of programming, designed for fans of all ages. Each day will feature a new and thrilling line-up of live musical performances, big-ticket prizes and giveaways, food offerings from each of the participating tournament countries, viewing parties and the opportunity to see the World Cup of Hockey Trophy up close. The family-friendly festival will occupy the Distillery District plus more than 200,000 square feet of an untouched lot east of Cherry Street, which will be known as the ‘East Fan Village.'”

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Pavelski to Captain Team USA

Reports surfaced on Wednesday that San Jose Sharks F Joe Pavelski will be named captain of Team USA.

Pavelski, 32, was recently given the “C” at the start of the 2015-16 campaign in San Jose, and looks to replace Zach Parise who dawned the captaincy for the United States back at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

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Tickets on Sale Today

Hockey World Cup tickets went on sale this morning (Aug.17) on Ticketmaster. Prices range for the tournament. For example, if you wanted to see Team USA vs. Team Canada, you can still find seats for as low as $148.00 (CDN) ranging up to $1710.00 (CDN).

As of Thursday afternoon, the following games have a limited number of seats remaining:

09/17 – USA vs. Europe
09/17 – Czech Republic vs. Canada
09/18 – Russia vs. Sweden
09/18 – North America vs. Finland
09/19 – Russia vs. North America
09/20 – Finland vs. Sweden
09/20 – Canada vs. USA
09/21 – North America vs. Sweden
09/21 – Europe vs. Canada
09/24 – Semi-Final 1
09/24 – Semi-Final 2
09/29 – Final Game 2

Several Tickets Remaining:

09/19 – Europe vs. Czech Republic
09/22 – Finland vs. Russia
09/22 – USA vs. Czech Republic
09/27 – Final Game 1

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Carey Price Healthy

Latest word is that Montreal Canadiens G Carey Price will be 100 percent healthy for the tournament. Price strained an MCL ligament in his right knee back on November 25th against the New York Rangers in just his second game back from injury.

Doug Armstrong via NHL.com,

“He’s been training. He’s 100 percent and he’s ready to go,” Armstrong said. “Now, he’ll have to shake off some of the rust because he hasn’t played in a game situation in a long time. But he will come into [training camp] and be ready to go for game one.”

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Pre-Tournament Schedule

NHL released the pre-tournament schedule for the World Cup of Hockey a couple of weeks ago. It will feature several match-ups in both North American and European locations. The highlight will be two games featuring Canada vs. USA.

Sept 8 – Sweden vs. Finland (Helsinki, Finland)
Sept 8 – Czech Republic vs. Russia (St.Petersburg, Russia)
Sept 8 – North America vs. Europe (Quebec City, Quebec)
Sept 9 – Canada vs. USA (Columbus, Ohio)
Sept 10 – Russia vs. Czech Republic (Prague, Czech Republic)
Sept 10 – Finland vs. Sweden (Gothenburg, Sweden)
Sept 10 – USA vs. Canada (Ottawa, Ontario)
Sept 11 – Europe vs. North America (Montreal, Quebec)
Sept 13 – Finland vs. USA (Washington, DC)
Sept 14 – Czech Republic vs. North America (Pittsburgh, PA)
Sept 14 – Sweden vs. Europe (Washington, DC)
Sept 14 – Russia vs. Canada (Pittsburgh, PA)