Report: European teams tell NHL they won’t play in 2028 World Cup if Russia is involved

According to a report from Czech hockey reporter Robert Rampa, several European countries have informed the NHL if Russia is allowed to play in the 2028 World Cup, they would not participate.

Rampa reported Monday that three of those nations were Czechia, Finland and Sweden.

Russia has been banned from IIHF-sanctioned events since its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

In a statement last year, the IIHF said it “believes it is not yet safe to reintegrate” Russia, as well as Belarus, into international tournaments. The IIHF will determine in May if either country will be allowed to participate in future events.

“As the current security conditions do not allow the necessary requirements for the organization of tournaments guaranteeing the safety of all, the IIHF must maintain the current status quo until further notice,” the IIHF said.

The Russian men’s hockey team hasn’t competed in a best-on-best tournament since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, an NHL-sanctioned event that took place in Toronto. They finished 2-1-0 and advanced to the knockout stage, where they were eliminated by Canada in the semifinals.

In Olympic hockey, they last participated at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, where they finished 1-1-1-0 in the preliminary round, defeated Norway in the qualification playoff then were eliminated by Finland in the quarterfinals.

Sixty-five Russians have played at least one game in the NHL this season. Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov is among the highest scorers in the league, producing 34 goals and 72 assists for 106 points, while Minnesota Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov has 38 goals and 41 assists for 79 points.