Thursday, Feb. 13, 2025 | 2 a.m.
For the first time in nearly a decade, the NHL’s top players have the chance to represent their home countries in a “best-on-best” tournament.
The 4 Nations Face-Off kicked off February 12 in Montreal featuring rosters from the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden squaring off in a round-robin tournament. A championship game set for February 20 in Boston will cap the prestigious event.
The 2016 World Cup of Hockey was the last time the NHL fully embraced this type of international event. The league is pausing for nearly two weeks in favor of the tournament, with no games scheduled February 10-21.
The Vegas Golden Knights will be well represented as they had seven players selected to compete in the tournament, the second-highest in the league behind the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers with eight.
Center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin will play for the United States. Forward Mark Stone, goalie Adin Hill and defenseman Shea Theodore will represent Canada.
Coach Bruce Cassidy is slated to be a part of Canada’s staff as an assistant coach.
Alex Pietrangelo (Canada) and William Karlsson (Sweden) were both selected to play in the tournament, but have since sustained injuries. Pietrangelo announced on January 26 that he would be withdrawing due to an undisclosed ailment that he needs to address in order to be at his best for the rest of the Golden Knights’ season.
“It sucks. To represent your country is an honor. My kids and my wife were excited, but it is what it is,” Pietrangelo said. “Sometimes you just have to make tough decisions.”
Karlsson is on injured reserve for a lower-body injury and has been described as recovering on a week-to-week basis. Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell was added to Sweden’s roster to replace Karlsson.
The final three games at TD Garden in Boston will mark the first time a “best-on-best” international tournament has been contested in the United States since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
The location makes it extra special for Eichel and Hanifin.
Eichel is from North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, a suburb north of Boston, and played for Boston University. Hanifin is from Norwood, Massachusetts, which is a suburb south of Boston and played for Boston College.
“It’s always special whenever we go home and play the Bruins and have the opportunity to play in the Garden,” Eichel said. “It’s no different in this tournament. We’re representing our country, and the format’s a bit different, but for me, it’s so exciting to be able to play in front of family and friends and be in the community you grew up in.”
Chemistry shouldn’t be a problem for the American team. Hanifin said he was not only familiar with Eichel as a teammate but also seven other players on the roster whom he teamed with in the 2019 Ice Hockey World Championship.
“There’s a lot of players that I’ve played with in the past and had history with, and you get friends out of it,” Hanifin said. “You don’t see them as much anymore as time moves on, but just to get that group together again will be a lot of fun.”
The United States is looking to win its first tournament since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, where the squad pulled off a shocking upset over a Canadian team with eight eventual Hall of Famers including Wayne Gretzky.
That stands as the country’s only “best-on-best” tournament victory, as rosters for the famed “Miracle on Ice” and ensuing gold medal at the 1980 Olympics were made up of amateur players, not NHLers.
Canada has dominated international hockey for decades, but the Americans believe they have a good chance to win this tournament.
“For a while, Canada was on a pedestal by itself,” Eichel said. “For us, we feel like we’ve closed that gap. This a great opportunity for us to prove that.”
Canada has won three straight “best-on-best” championships dating back to the 2006 World Cup of Hockey. The only such tournament in the last 30 years where Canada did not finish higher than third was the 2006 Olympics.
Canada comes into the 4 Nations Face-Off with another loaded roster, led by NHL superstars Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby.
“It’s a pretty special roster,” Stone said. “There are Hall of Famers all over it. I’m excited to get into that locker room to get this team assembled and ready.”
Stone, Theodore and Hill are all newcomers to the squad. The trio has played together in World Juniors and World Championship tournaments but never featured in a tournament that showcases the premier professional talent in the world.
“You dream of putting on that jersey as a kid,” Hill said. “It’s a dream of putting on an NHL jersey and a Team Canada jersey, growing up in Canada. It’ll be an honor to represent the country.”
Ontario (six players) and Alberta (six players) dominate the Canadians’ roster, but there are points of pride from lesser-represented provinces too. Theodore is one of three players from British Columbia.
Theodore was inspired by watching Team Canada win the gold medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver growing up.
“There’s been some really good players to come out of B.C. for sure,” Theodore said. “Being one of the few guys playing this year is definitely special, and it’ll be good to see those other guys there.”
The Golden Knights’ contingent in the 4 Nations Face-Off are unanimous in agreeing that the reality of the tournament hasn’t sunk in just yet.
Cassidy has done the most work in preparation, jumping on weekly Zoom calls with head coach Jon Cooper (Tampa Bay Lightning) to start planning the team’s approach.
His primary focus has remained on the Golden Knights, but he’s looking forward to the atmosphere of the tournament once he arrives in Montreal.
“Once you’re there, in the environment, it’s almost like playoff hockey,” Cassidy said. “You have the regular seasons of grind. You get to the playoffs, and you’re excited about it because it’s playoffs. It’ll be a little bit of that excitement once you’re there.”
This story appeared in Las Vegas Weekly.