The Finnish Hockey Union denied the intention to boycott the World Cup because of the Russian Federation

Finnish Hockey Union President Heikki Hietanen has denied reports that the country's national team intends to boycott the 2028 World Cup if the Russian team participates in the competition, Iltalehti reported on March 17.

Similar data was disseminated by Robert Rampa, an insider of the Czech edition of iDNES. He noted that even a Canadian team could join the boycott. Hietanen noted that the insider's publications are not information, but the journalist's assumptions, so he will not comment on them, Sport-Express pointed out.

"We have not yet discussed with the NHL the participation of the Russian national team in the tournament. We don't think it's right to invite them, but we're not the organizing party. On the other hand, the International Ice Hockey Federation has not yet made any decisions regarding the 2027/28 season," said the president of the Finnish Hockey Union.

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The press service of the National Hockey League (NHL) announced on March 16 that the 2028 Hockey World Cup matches will be held in the Canadian cities of Calgary and Edmonton, as well as in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic.

In August 2025, it became known that eight countries would participate in the 2028 IIHF World Cup. However, specific participating countries have not yet been named.

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