The return of the World Cup of Hockey after a dozen-year hiatus means Nashville Predators fans will see their favorite sport resume action earlier in the year than ever before.

Four Preds skaters are scheduled to play on the international stage at the eight-team tournament that’s now merely five weeks away from pre-tournament (preseason) action.

Mattias Ekholm and Filip Forsberg will suit up for Team Sweden and play in the four-team Group A; Roman Josi (Team Europe) and Pekka Rinne (Team Finland) are both in Group B. After a seven-day, pre-tournament slate, the two-week World Cup of Hockey tournament will start on Saturday, Sept. 17, beginning with group play, followed by the semifinals, and lastly, a best-of-three finals beginning on Sept. 27.

Most of the preseason games will be live streamed via WatchESPN, while all of the tournament action will be carried on the ESPN networks. You can of course visit NashvillePredators.com for highlights and the latest digital content on the Predators’ involvement at the tournament.

So, again, hockey is very close to resuming action. Here’s when and where to catch all the Preds at the World Cup:

Pre-Tournament Schedule:

Date Time (CT)

Event Location Network Thursday, Sept 8 11 a.m. Sweden vs. Finland Helsinki, Finland WatchESPN Thursday, Sept 8 7 p.m. North America vs. Europe Quebec City, Quebec ESPN2 Saturday, Sept 10 11 a.m. Finland vs. Sweden Gothenburg, Sweden WatchESPN Sunday, Sept 11 5 p.m. Europe vs. North America Montreal, Canada WatchESPN Tuesday, Sept 13 6 p.m. Finland vs. USA Washington, DC ESPN Wednesday, Sept 14 6 p.m. Sweden vs. Europe Washington, DC WatchESPN

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Following the preseason, the remainder of the World Cup will be held in Toronto at the Air Canada Centre.

Tournament Schedule:

Date Time (CT)

Event Network Saturday, Sept 17 2:30 p.m. Group Play: USA vs. Europe ESPN2 Sunday, Sept 18 2 p.m. Group Play: Sweden vs. Russia ESPN Sunday, Sept 18 7 p.m. Group Play: North America vs. Finland ESPN2 Monday, Sept 19 2 p.m. Group Play: Europe vs. Czech Republic ESPN2 Tuesday, Sept 20 2 p.m. Group Play: Finland vs. Sweden ESPN Wednesday, Sept 21 2 p.m. Group Play: North America vs. Sweden ESPN Wednesday, Sept 21 7 p.m. Group Play: Europe vs Canada ESPN2 Thursday, Sept 22 2 p.m. Group Play: Finland vs. Russia ESPN Saturday, Sept 24 6 p.m. Semifinal One ESPN2 Sunday, Sept 25 12 p.m. Semifinal Two ESPN Tuesday, Sept 27 7 p.m. Final: Game One ESPN Thursday, Sept 29 7 p.m. Final: Game Two ESPN2 Saturday, Oct 1 6 p.m. Final: Game Three (if necessary) ESPN2

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