September is almost over, and that means hockey season is just around the corner. The National Hockey League (NHL) season starts in October and ends sometime in late May or early June depending on the Stanley Cup Finals. Between then and October, there is a long, boring break that makes any avid hockey fan like myself wait impatiently for the start of the next season. This year, however, hockey fans didn't have to wait too long for hockey to return.

The 2016 World Cup of Hockey is an international ice hockey tournament that began in 1996. This year's tournament will be the third time it has occurred. It is organized by the NHL and the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA), in cooperation with the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). The tournament consists of 8 teams: Team USA, Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Sweden, Team Russia, Team FInland, Team Europe, and Team North America. The members of the teams are the best of their respective countries, most of whom are in the NHL. Two exceptions to this year's teams are Team Europe and Team North America. Team Europe is comprised of the best players in Europe excluding the European teams already in the tournament, and Team North America is best players in the continent under the age of 23. The World Cup of Hockey is being held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; it officially began on September 17 and will go until October 1.

This tournament is very unique in the world of hockey. First and foremost, it is meant to showcase the best players in hockey and create more international interest in the sport. In addition, Adidas created the jerseys for the tournament, acting as a preview for the NHL as they are to become the official NHL outfitter for the 2017-18 season (Reebok is the current NHL outfitter). What is also interesting about this year's World Cup of Hockey is the media coverage. ESPN was awarded the official media coverage for the tournament, which will hopefully cause a resurgence of hockey coverage. Twenty years ago, ESPN was the main media outlet for hockey. In 2004, when the NHL had its lockout, it replaced ESPN with OLN (which eventually became NBCSN). Since then, ESPN rarely has any hockey coverage or highlights. This deal may help ESPN slowly get back into hockey and give it the coverage it deserves.

At the writing of this article, four teams remain: Team Canada, Team Russia, Team Europe, and Team Sweden. The tournament has been amazing to watch, and these teams have been very entertaining to watch. So if you can this week, turn on ESPN and try to catch the semifinal games and the final series!