Four nations, one champion, who will win the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off?
Lucas Carpignano, Sports Editor
Since the Hockey World Cup in 2016, we haven’t had the chance to witness a best-on-best international hockey tournament. This all changes this upcoming February, with the 4 Nations Face-Off. This mini tournament will be replacing the NHL All-Star break and will feature four powerhouse international hockey teams: Canada, The United States, Finland, and Sweden. As we wait anxiously, I have you covered with my roster and tournament predictions.
When it comes to Team Canada there are so many players that deserve a spot on the team. Six players have already been confirmed to be on the roster; Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, and Cale Makar. Other players I expect to make the roster would include Mitch Marner, Sam Reinhart, Devon Toews, and Noah Dobson. The remaining spots are really tough for me to pick, given there are so many more talented Canadian players. I think two players who might find their way onto the team would be Alexis Lafreniere and Connor Bedard. Alexis Lafreniere is only 23 years old, and last season, he scored a career-high 28 goals, while he is on track to score 36 goals this season. Connor Bedard is entering his second year in the NHL, and he will by far be the youngest player on the roster if he is selected. He has an insane amount of potential and seeing him play with players he grew up idolizing would be amazing.
The biggest question coming into this tournament is, who’s going to be Canada’s goalie? For years Canada has had some of the best goalies in the world starting for them, but this isn’t the case anymore. My pick for the starter would be Washington’s Logan Thompson. The Calgary native has yet to lose in regulation this season so far, with eight wins and one overtime loss. He has an average goals-against of 2.63 with a .913 save percentage. In my opinion, he is by far the best option.
Team USA is on a similar boat as Canada, with so many players to choose from, how do you narrow it down? The six players that have been confirmed are Jack Eichel, Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, Adam Fox, Quinn Hughes, and Charlie McAvoy. Other players I expect to make the roster include Brady Tkachuk, Jack Hughes, Kyle Connor, and Brock Faber. Other players I can see in the mix would be Brock Boeser, Clayton Keller, and Vincent Trochek. All three of these players have crucial roles on their respective teams, but given the depth of the USA roster, it might be hard for these players to sneak into the lineup
For Sweden and Finland, it becomes a lot easier to narrow it down. Sweden’s six confirmed players are Filip Forsberg, William Nylander, Mika Zibanejad, Gustav Forsling, Victor Hedman, and Erik Karlsson. Finland’s six confirmed players are Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, and Juuse Saros. I expect Adrian Kempe, Jesper Bratt, Joel Eriksson Ek, Rasmus Dahlin, and Mattias Ekholm all to make the Swedish roster. For Finland, I expect Teuvo Teravainen, Roope Hintz, Artturi Lehkonen, and Kaapo Kakko to make the roster.
This upcoming February is set to be an exciting time for all of us hockey fans. Watching this best-on-best tournament would get hockey fans excited for the 2026 Olympics, which would see the return of NHL players. Finally, to end off my predictions, as much as it pains me to admit it, I believe that Team USA will win the 4 Nation Face-Off.
Photo Credit: Sports Net
