NHL and NHLPA aim high with World Cup of Hockey

TORONTO – The set up in the Air Canada Centre was massive for the NHL and NHLPA’s joint World Cup news conference.

In fact, calling it a news conference would be unfair – it was an event and a big one at that. It included spotlights, videos and even children leading the game’s biggest stars onto the podium, holding the player’s country flag and a television audience in Canada and the United States.

If this is any indication on how the event next season – which is slated to start Sept. 17, 2016 in Toronto will look, expect a large scale event bigger than a lot of imaginations would have thought.

The format will feature eight teams separated into two groups in a preliminary round, which will run Sept. 17-22, 2016.

The semifinals will be played Sept. 24-25. The semifinal winners will meet in a best-of-three final. Games will be played Sept. 27, Sept. 29 and if necessary, Oct. 1.

Group A will include Team Canada, the Czech Republic, Team USA and Team Europe. Group B will have Team Russia, Team Finland, Team Sweden and Team North America – a group of the top North American born players 23-and-under by Oct. 1, 2016.

This will be the first World Cup of Hockey since 2004 and only the third since the first event in 1996.

“I wasn’t really expecting anything, but it’s definitely good to see this volume of people here and people being interested in this tournament,” Boston Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask said. “You have to start somewhere, right? So hopefully this works as a great start for future World Cups.”

ESPN anchor Steve Levy MC’d with Sportsnet’s George Stroumboulopoulos. Levy’s presence at the event is was as interesting as any. ESPN won the broadcast rights to the World Cup, which will bring NHL-style hockey back to the network. This likely added to the overall pomp and circumstance.

“We think this going to be a terrific event that is going to be a best-on-best for the ages,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.

Beyond the hockey the league sees this not just as a competition, but a launching pad into a more international medium.

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“We intend to do World Cups on a regular basis. There are other competitions we're talking about creating, the possibility of preseason games, regular season games being played outside of North America, clinics, a more regular presence consistent with some of the other things that we've been doing internationally such as having NHL.com in a number of different languages,” Bettman said. “It's a way that we think will continue to encourage the growth of the game, encourage the growth of future NHL players and engage more fans worldwide."

Kings forward Anze Kopitar wasn’t quite sure about his expectations for playing for Team Europe, which will be a group of players not from the aforementioned countries.

“Yeah, I mean, we’re a part of Europe,” he said. “That’s the way it is, and we’re going to play for maybe a little bigger picture than for our country. And you know, in course, in one way you’re still representing your country, and we’re going to do it with pride.”

As for the young stars, it’s a chance to see Connor McDavid and Jack Eichel – the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2015 NHL Draft – together.

“We saw what happened when Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin came into the league at the same time, and it’s a similar situation now,” Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara said. “Both players extremely talented, and they were followed on their way every game, and every practice, every time they scored. And I’m sure it’s going to be a fun year for them.”

When you have the best players in the world going up against one another, there’s very little wrong that can happen. In fact, it gives you more opportunities to figure out how to push your brand and business – which the NHL can’t do with the Olympics.

"All things are possible. We haven't made any formal decisions, but our view was for the first one in a number of years bringing it back, we wanted to bring it to a place that is known for being the heart of hockey in a first class arena," Bettman said. "We have no doubt that the games will all be sold out, that the impact and reception in this market will be spectacular, and then we'll have something to build upon."

And since the gameplay tends to be at a high-level, there’s no reason to think the league can’t accomplish its lofty goals with the most recent incarnation of the World Cup.

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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