The 4 Nations Face-off is just around the corner, and it promises to be an exciting event. It features four of the most passionate hockey nations in the world. This highly anticipated event will consist of the best players from Canada, Finland, United States, and Sweden, in a best-on-best, NHL sanctioned tournament. Finally, the rosters have been announced, so lets rank each of the competing countries.
4th | Finland
| Patrik Laine | Aleksander Barkov | Mikko Rantanen |
| Teuvo Teravainen | Sebastian Aho | Kaapo Kakko |
| Erik Haula | Roope Hintz | Mikael Granlund |
| Artturi Lehkonen | Anton Lundell | Joel Armia |
| Eetu Luostarinen |
| Esa Lindell | Miro Heiskanen |
| Juuso Valimaki | Rasmus Ristolainen |
| Olli Maatta | Jani Hakanpaa |
| Niko Mikkola |
| Juuse Saros |
| Kevin Lankinen |
| Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen |
Finland has the weakest team at this event. Their strength is up the middle with Barkov, Aho, and Hintz at centre, assuming they all play there. However, every team in this tournament has exceptional centre depth, so that’s not really an advantage. The Fins also have a great goaltender in Juuse Saros, and he will need to be exceptional if Finland stands a chance.
Where this team lacks is on the wings and the blue line. Outside of Mikko Rantanten, their wingers are underwhelming. They are all solid NHL players, but some of the other nations have four first lines. So, the Fins may struggle to contend. Their big question mark is Patrik Laine. Laine just returned from injury, so hopefully he can stay healthy over these next few months and get back up to speed.
Their defence is their biggest concern. Outside of Miro Heiskanen, this D core does not even come close to the other three countries. On good NHL teams, most of this blue line are third-pairing guys. However, in this tournament, the other teams’ blue lines are mostly top-pairing guys. Finland is in tough, so expect a fourth place finish.
3rd | Sweden
| Filip Forsberg | Elias Pettersson | William Nylander |
| Jesper Bratt | Mika Zibanejad | Adrian Kempe |
| Lucas Raymond | Joel Eriksson Ek | Elias Lindholm |
| Gustav Nyquist | William Karlsson | Viktor Arvidsson |
| Leo Carlsson |
| Victor Hedman | Rasmus Dahlin |
| Gustav Forsling | Erik Karlsson |
| Mattias Ekholm | Rasmus Andersson |
| Jonas Brodin |
| Filip Gustavsson |
| Jacob Markstrom |
| Linus Ullmark |
Sweden’s biggest strength is their blue line. They are led by Hedman, Dahlin, and Karlsson. They also have great bottom-pairing guys in Ekholm, Forsling, and Andersson, which makes this group really tough to play against.
Their forward group is solid. They aren’t flashy, but they are good, and they work hard. They are led by Maple Leafs star, William Nylander, and Predators star, Filip Forsberg on the wings. The Swedes also have other weapons that can score, so it will be interesting to see if their offence can keep up with Canada or the United States.
In goal, Filip Gustavsson is expected to be the starter. He’s had an incredible start to the season for the Minnesota Wild. He currently has a 2.04 goals-against average (GAA), and a sparkling, .929 save percentage (SV%) in 19 games. Jacob Markstrom has had a decent start in New Jersey, posting a 2.54 GAA, and .907 SV%. Sweden probably has the second-best goaltending at this event, but they may be outmatched up front by the two North American countries.
2ND | CANADA
| Brandon Hagel | Connor McDavid | Sam Reinhart |
| Sidney Crosby | Nathan MacKinnon | Mitch Marner |
| Brad Marchand | Brayden Point | Travis Konecny |
| Seth Jarvis | Sam Bennett | Mark Stone |
| Anthony Cirelli |
| Devon Toews | Cale Makar |
| Shea Theodore | Alex Pietrangelo |
| Josh Morrissey | Colton Parayko |
| Travis Sanheim |
| Adin Hill |
| Sam Montembeault |
| Jordan Binnington |
Is this a dream, or are we about to see Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, and Connor McDavid on the same team? The 4 Nations Face-Off will provide so much excitement for a Canadian hockey fan. However, they did leave some great players off this roster, so hopefully that doesn’t come back to bite them. They are probably on par with the Americans in terms of offensive depth and firepower, so that will likely cancel each other out.
On defence, it’s no surprise that this team is led by Cale Makar. Makar is an elite talent and will be heavily relied upon on the power play, and to provide an offensive punch from the back-end. Josh Morrisey, and Shea Theodore should help with that responsibility, but the others are more defensively responsible. Hopefully they can play solid defence in front of their underwhelming netminders.
Their goaltending is by far their weakest position, and they probably have the worst tandem is the entire tournament. This season, Adin Hill has a .905 SV%, Joran Binnington has a an .900 SV%, and Sam Montembeault has a .905 SV%. Those numbers are not good, compared to their competition. Their offence will need to dominate, and even with that, it still might not be good enough. Therefore, Canada will likely fall short in the championship game.
1st | USA
| Jake Guentzel | Auston Matthews | Matthew Tkachuk |
| Kyle Connor | Jack Hughes | Jack Eichel |
| Matt Boldy | Dylan Larkin | Brady Tkachuk |
| Chris Kreider | J.T Miller | Vincent Trocheck |
| Brock Nelson |
| Quinn Hughes | Adam Fox |
| Zach Werenski | Charlie McAvoy |
| Noah Hanifin | Brock Faber |
| Jaccob Slavin |
| Connor Hellebuyck |
| Jake Oettinger |
| Jeremy Swayman |
This team has an elite forward group. They have superstars in Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk, and Jack Hughes. But, they also have elite physical players that get to the front of the net in Chris Krieder, Brady Tkachuk, and J.T Miller. This team will bully you down-low, while having the scoring touch. This is a dangerous, well-balanced lineup.
Their D core have exceptional puck movers in Quinn Hughes, and Adam Fox, while also having some physicality in Charlie McAvoy. Zach Werenski is finally healthy and is quietly having an incredible season. He currently has 26 points in 24 games while being a plus 11 on mediocre Columbus Blue Jackets team. That’s impressive in itself. This team doesn’t have a weakness.
Team USA can’t go wrong with any goaltender they put between the pipes, but Hellebuyck should be the likely starter. The 31-year old netminder has a dazzling 2.14 GAA, and .925 SV% in 22 games. His tandem mate Jake Oettinger has really good numbers as well, posting a 2.45 GAA, and .911 SV%. Defence and goaltending supposedly wins championships, and the United States have both. They have a decisive advantage in net over the Canadians, which could be the difference-maker.
Simply put, this team is stacked from the net out. Team USA has elite players at all positions, and for that, they should beat Canada in the championship game.
When is the 4 Nations Face-Off?
The 4 Nations Face-off kicks on February 12th, from the Bell Centre in Montreal, and the Championship game is scheduled for February 17th at the TD Garden in Boston. Here is the official schedule.
Keep checking Area 51 Sports Network for all your NHL news and rumours throughout the season, and into the 4 Nations Face-Off this February. This tournament is going to be electric.
