The World Cup of Hockey 2016 features eight teams competing for a best-on-best international hockey championship.

The eight teams in the World Cup of Hockey 2016 are divided into two groups of four, with each competing in three tournament games within their assigned group in a round-robin format. The top two finishers in Group A and Group B will advance to a single-game semifinal, where the first-place team from each group will face an elimination game against the second-place team from the other group. Winners of the semifinal games then will advance to a best-of-three final series. More than 170 of the best players in the NHL will participate in the tournament.

Who is organizing the tournament? The tournament is a joint effort of the NHL and NHLPA, in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

Under whose rules will the tournament be staged? The World Cup of Hockey 2016 will be played on NHL-sized rinks using NHL rules and officiated by NHL officials. Other competition matters – such as the anti-doping policy governing the tournament, the framework and procedure for supplementary discipline, the medical protocols, media and broadcasting policies and access, etc. – will be the responsibility of the NHL and NHLPA in consultation with third parties, including the IIHF, where appropriate.

When and where will the tournament be played? The tournament will take place over a two-week period, from Sept. 17 – Oct. 1. All games will be played at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, home of the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs.

How many players does each team have? Each of the eight teams has a roster of 23 players: 20 skaters and three goaltenders.

What is the tournament format? The eight teams are divided into two groups of four, and each will compete in three tournament games within their assigned group in a round-robin format. The top two finishers in Group A and Group B will advance to a single-game semifinal, where the first-place team from each group will face an elimination game against the second-place team from the other group. Winners of the semifinal games then will advance to a best-of-three final series.

Group A

Team Canada

Team Czech Republic

Team Europe

Team USA

Group B

Team Finland

Team North America

Team Russian

Team Sweden

Who is eligible for Team North America? The players for Team North America come from a pool of the best young hockey players from Canada and the United States. Those players must be 23 or younger as of Oct. 1, 2016 (i.e., must have a date of birth on or after Oct. 2, 1992) and are available for selection exclusively by Team North America.

Who is eligible for Team Canada and Team USA? As North American players age 23 and younger are available for selection exclusively by Team North America (see above), each player for Team Canada and Team USA must be 24 or older by no later than Oct. 1, 2016 (i.e., must have a date of birth of Oct. 1, 1992 or earlier).

Who is eligible for Team Europe? Team Europe is comprised of a pan-European roster of players from birth countries outside of the Czech Republic, Finland, Russia and Sweden – in short, all of the other European countries who are developing world-class hockey players in ever-increasing numbers. Countries such as Austria, Belarus, Denmark, France, Germany, Latvia, Norway, Slovakia, Slovenia and Switzerland (among others) are eligible for representation on Team Europe.

Rules – All World Cup of Hockey 2016 games will be conducted in accordance with NHL Official Rules.

Ice Surface – All World Cup of Hockey 2016 tournament games will be played on NHL regulation ice surfaces of 200 feet x 85 feet.

Video Review – Video review will commence during the third pre-tournament games and will be conducted as per NHL Official Rules. The Toronto video room will be staffed by NHL Hockey Operations and will be operational throughout the tournament.

Coach’s Challenge – The coach’s challenge will commence during the third pre-tournament games and will be conducted as per NHL Official Rules. All teams will have the opportunity to utilize the coach’s challenge. All federations will be educated about the rules of the coach’s challenge.

Officiating – All pre-tournament games will be staffed by four officials – two referees and two linesmen. The pre-tournament games in North America will feature two NHL referees and two NHL linesmen. The pre-tournament games in Europe will include one NHL and one non-NHL referee as well as one NHL and one non-NHL linesman. World Cup of Hockey 2016 tournament games will include 14 total NHL officials – seven referees and seven linesmen. All tournament games will be officiated by two NHL referees and two NHL linesmen.

HITS Scoring System – All pre-tournament and tournament games will be scored by NHL officials using the HITS scoring system.

Tie Breaking –  Teams that pull their goaltender for an extra attacker during the overtime period (other than on a delayed penalty) will be subject to the potential forfeiture of their one point earned for the tie at the end of regulation in the event the opposing team scores into the empty net. For purposes of the tiebreaking procedures, shootouts will result in the awarding of +1 goal to the winning team and -1 goal for the losing team.

 

ROSTER SELECTIONS BY NHL TEAM

Detroit Red Wings (7): G Petr Mrazek (Team Czech Republic); F Frans Nielsen, F Tomas Tatar and F Thomas Vanek (Team Europe); F Dylan Larkin (Team North America); D Alexey Marchenko (Team Russia); F Justin Abdelkader (Team USA).

Montreal Canadiens (6): G Carey Price and D Shea Weber (Team Canada); F Tomas Plekanec (Team Czech Republic); D Alexei Emelin and D Andrei Markov (Team Russia); F Max Pacioretty (Team USA).

Toronto Maple Leafs (8): F Milan Michalek and D Roman Polak (Team Czech Republic); F Leo Komarov (Team Finland); F Auston Matthews and D Morgan Rielly (Team North America); D Nikita Zaitsev (Team Russia); G Jhonas Enroth (Team Sweden); F James van Riemsdyk (Team USA).