The schedule and locations for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey's pre-tournament action were released jointly by the NHL and NHLPA today. Training camps for all eight teams will start on Sept. 4 and 5 and each team will play three pre-tournament games across Canada, the United States, and Europe.

Below are the locations for each of the training camps, with Canada's being held in Ottawa at the Canadian Tire Centre.

Team Location Arena
Canada Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre
United States Columbus Nationwide Arena
Sweden Gothenburg Scandinavium
Russia TBD TBD
Czech Republic Prague O2 Arena
Finland Helsinki Hartwall Arena
Team Europe Montreal/Quebec City Bell Centre/Videotron Centre
Team North America Montreal/Quebec City Bell Centre/Videotron Centre

The tournament will be divided into two groups and will officially start on Sept. 17, concluding with a best-of-three series between the top two teams that starts on Sept. 27. The groups are as follows:

Group A Group B
Canada Russia
United States Sweden
Czech Republic Finland
Team Europe Team North America

The 12 pre-tournament games will kick off on Sept. 8 and run through until Sept. 14. Team Canada will play Team USA twice (in Columbus on Sept. 9 and in Ottawa on Sept. 10) before finishing off their pre-tournament action against Team Russia in Pittsburgh on Sept. 14.

Below is the full pre-tournament schedule. All of Team Canada's pre-tournament games will be broadcast nationally in primetime on Sportsnet.

Thursday, September 8
Team Czech Republic vs. Team Russia - Ice Palace; St. Petersburg
Start time TBD - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team Sweden vs. Team Finland - Hartwall Arena; Helsinki
Noon ET/7 p.m. local - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team Europe vs. Team North America - Videotron Centre; Quebec City
8 p.m. ET - ESPN2, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Friday, September 9
Team Canada vs. Team USA - Nationwide Arena; Columbus
7 p.m. ET - TBD, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Saturday, September 10
Team Finland vs. Team Sweden - Scandinavium; Gothenburg
Noon ET/6 p.m. local - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team Russia vs. Team Czech Republic - O2 Arena; Prague
10:30 a.m. ET/4:30 p.m. local - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team USA vs. Team Canada - Canadian Tire Centre; Ottawa
7 p.m. ET - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Sunday, September 11
Team Europe vs. Team North America - Bell Centre; Montreal
6 p.m. ET - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Tuesday, September 13
Team Finland vs. Team USA - Verizon Center; Washington, DC
7 p.m. ET - ESPN, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Wednesday, September 14
Team Czech Republic vs. Team North America - CONSOL Energy Center; Pittsburgh
3:30 p.m. ET - Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team Canada vs. Team Russia - CONSOL Energy Center, Pittsburgh
7:30 p.m. ET - ESPN2, Sportsnet, TVA Sports

Team Sweden vs. Team Europe - Verizon Center; Washington, DC
7 p.m. ET - Sportsnet, TVA Sports 2

For those who don't live in Toronto, the pre-tournament schedule presents a chance to likely see -- barring injury or a dramatic drop in their play -- Morgan Rielly (Team North America) and James van Riemsdyk (Team USA) in action on the international stage.

World Cup of Hockey