Thursday, Dec. 5, 2024 | 5:03 p.m.
For the first time since 2016, NHL players will get the opportunity to represent their respective countries in an international tournament.
On Wednesday, the complete rosters for the 4 Nations Face-Off, a tournament that will take place in February, were announced. 12 to 20 in Boston and Montreal between the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
Jack Eichel (USA), Noah Hanifin (USA), Mark Stone (Canada), Alex Pietrangelo (Canada), Shea Theodore (Canada), Adin Hill (Canada) and William Karlsson (Sweden) were the Vegas Golden Knights players that were named to rosters.
The Golden Knights’ seven selected players are the second-most in the league, behind the Florida Panthers’ eight.
Thursday, Stone, Pietrangelo and Eichel spoke to the media via Zoom about the chance to represent their countries.
“For Petro and I, it’s exciting to be on the team with Theo (Theodore) and Hiller (Hill),” Stone said. “It just adds a little bit more familiarity. It’s an exciting time. I’m 32 now, and I’ve never been in the league for a best-on-best tournament, so I’m pretty excited.”
Only two Golden Knight players have experience in NHL best-on-best tournaments. Eichel played for Team North America in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, a team composed of North American players under the age of 23.
Pietrangelo won a gold medal with Team Canada in the 2014 Olympics and was a part of Canada’s World Cup of Hockey team in 2016.
After the World Cup of Hockey, the NHL has backed away from international competition, not sending its players to the Olympics or hosting international events.
Recently, the NHL has changed its tone on international competition, allowing players to compete in the 2026 Olympics in Milan, Italy, and creating the 4 Nations Face-Off instead of having an All-Star Game.
“You got a lot of talent on special teams, and it’s about finding out where everybody slots and going over those things systematically,” Pietrangelo said. “But there’s so much excitement, so much joy with everybody being there and everybody gets dialed in pretty quickly.”
American and Canadian players will have a slight advantage with games being hosted in Montreal and Boston, but home-ice advantage has become rarer for American players in international play.
The United States has hosted one “best-on-best” tournament since 1976: the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. It also hosted five games in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Only three of the seven 4 Nations games will be hosted in Boston, and the U.S. is only promised one of its three scheduled games to be played on home soil. Still, this is a significant improvement from how best-on-best international plays have gone over the last 20 years.
It’ll also be a homecoming for four players, including Eichel and Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin.
“We’re representing our country in the tournament, and the format’s a bit different, but for me, it’s so exciting to be able to play in front of family, friends, and a community I grew up in,” Eichel said. “It’s really cool that the tournament is going to be partially played there (Boston). It makes me really excited.”
The Americans are looking to make the most of a local advantage as they have not won a best-on-best international since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
NHL players were allowed to compete in the Olympics starting in 1998. The Canadians won the gold medal three times, while the US has not won gold since 1980. It finished as runner-up in 2002 and 2010.
“We feel very confident in our group and the names on our roster, but it’s only half the battle,” Eichel said. “Obviously, you got to go out there and do it.”