World Cup Of Hockey 2016: Upcoming Schedule Of Events

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is scheduled to kick off at 3:30 p.m. EST on Saturday, September 17th with a matchup between Team USA and Team Europe.

The moment Tampa Bay Lightning fans, along with the fans of the other 29 teams in the National Hockey League, have been waiting so very anxiously for is almost upon us. One Saturday afternoon, the 2016 World Cup of Hockey will officially kick off and countries from around the world will battle for hockey supremacy.

As most of you know by now, the Tampa Bay Lightning are very well represented at the returning international tournament. The Lightning have 12 players representing their native countries as well as Lightning Head Coach Jon Cooper on the bench for Team North America.

Needless to say, it may get a little challenging choosing which team or teams to root for in the tournament. There are so many top-tier players in the mix on each of the teams in the tournament that each and every match will be exciting to watch.

More from International Tournaments

• Lightning WJC Prospects Recap: Duke Wins Bronze with Team USA
• 2023 World Juniors: Duke, Huuhtanen, Veinbergs to represent Tampa Bay Lightning
• What to Expect of Lightning Prospect Nick Perbix at the Olympics
• World Junior Championships get Underway without Lightning Prospects
• Lightning Players to Miss out on 2022 Olympics as NHL Pulls Participation

In some cases, teammates will come up against each other over the course of the World Cup. We’ve already seen Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos come up against Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop in the preliminary exhibitions. Things could get very interesting as the tournament progresses.

The good news here is, there is no hate to be had. These kinds of rivalries are all in the spirit of competition. Hopefully, there will be nothing carried over into the regular season. At least we can count on their being no issues between Lightning players. As for their opponents, that remains to be seen.

In any case, before we travel way too far off topic, let’s take a closer look at the upcoming schedule so we know when all the action will be taking place over the course of the next few games. As we mentioned in the beginning of the article, the action will kick off on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. as Team USA kicks things off against Team Europe.

Saturday, September 17^th

Sunday, September 18^th

Monday, September 19^th

Tuesday, September 20^th      

Wednesday, September 21^st

Thursday, September 22^nd

Once the final game has been concluded on Thursday evening, we will move into the next round of competition. Obviously, we won’t know which teams will be competing in those games until we see how the tournament plays out, but here is a closer look at the schedule of games set to be played.

Saturday, September 24^th

Sunday, September 25^th       

Tuesday, September 27^th

Thursday, September 29^th

Saturday, October 1^st

As we mentioned before, there are a plethora of exciting matchups to look forward to. The tough question facing each and every fan here in the Bolts Nation is which team to cheer for. There are Lightning players on many different teams, so we guess it’s all about who your favorite players is.

Next: Yzerman Hopes To Have Kucherov Signed Following World Cup

We don’t know about the rest of you, but we here at Bolts By The Bay can’t wait to see how everything plays out over the course of the next couple of weeks. There is going to be plenty of excitement, so make sure to stay connected right here with Bolts By The Bay for all the latest.