What you need to know about Team Canada at the 4 Nations Showdown – Team Canada

THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

January 15, 2025


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During the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, representatives of the league and the Players’ Association announced particularly interesting news for Team Canada fans: NHL players will return to international tournaments bringing together the best players from each country, including at the 2026 and 2030 Winter Olympics.

NHL players were unable to participate in the 2018 and 2022 Winter Games, a reality that had a significant effect on the strengths at the men’s Olympic hockey tournament.

In addition to giving the green light to players to represent their respective countries at the next Olympic Games, the NHL announced the holding of its own international tournament – ​​the 4 Nations Showdown – bringing together the best NHL players from the hockey powers Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States. The tournament will replace the traditional NHL All-Star Game and will be held from February 12 to 20, split between Montreal and Boston.

Given that NHL players were absent during the last two Olympic cycles, the majority of players who will be present at the 4 Nations Showdown have never experienced the Olympic Games, although several of them have donned the Team Canada uniform at the IIHF World Junior Championship and/or IIHF World Championship. As such, the 4 Nations Showdown aims to provide a very interesting overview of the teams that are likely to be in contention at Milano Cortina 2026, in addition to giving players the opportunity to develop chemistry with those who will be possibly their teammates at the Olympic Games.

So here’s what you need to know about the 4 Nations Showdown.

Who can participate in the 4 Nations Showdown?

The tournament will bring together players from Canada, Sweden, Finland and the United States. Players must have a contract with an NHL club for the 2024-2025 season and must be on the roster of an NHL club as of December 2, 2024 to be eligible.

At the time the tournament was announced, all of these countries were ranked in the IIHF Top 6 in men’s hockey, with Canada first, Finland second, the United States fourth and Sweden sixth. Russia (ranked third at the time) was excluded from the tournament as that country was suspended by the IIHF as punishment for the war in Ukraine. Germany, which was ranked fifth at the time of the announcement, did not have enough active NHL players to field a full roster. Czechia, which was eighth in the IIHF standings at that time, had enough players to field a roster, but was not included in the group of participating teams.

The current world ranking (as of May 2024) places Canada in first place, followed by Russia, Finland, Czechia, Switzerland, the United States and then Sweden, making it that the absence of Czechia at the 4 Nations Showdown perhaps becomes particularly notable.

Due to the absence of Czechia and Russia, some may be hesitant to call the tournament a true competition of the best, but it is still the first international tournament to feature top players. plan of the NHL since the World Cup of Hockey in 2016.

Who will be part of Team Canada at the 4 Nations Showdown?

The selection of six players as Team Canada headliners in June 2024 was first announced to generate interest in the tournament. These players are Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Brayden Point and Brad Marchand. The remainder of the 23-player roster was revealed in December 2024 (see full roster below).

READ: Team Canada roster for 4 Nations Showdown: A potential preview of the 2026 Olympics

Seventeen of the selected players represented Canada at the IIHF World Junior Championship and 19 wore the maple leaf at the IIHF World Championship. Collectively, the members of the team have won 20 Stanley Cup titles, 10 World Junior gold medals and nine World Championship gold medals.

Hockey Canada has compiled some interesting and fun statistics to paint a numerical picture of Team Canada.

What is the importance of the 4 Nations Showdown in anticipation of the Olympic Games?

The tournament is expected to provide a taste of the lineups the main teams will field at Milano Cortina 2026 – and also, an idea of ​​what changes its leaders might want to make.

Team Canada’s 4 Nations coach, Jon Cooper, has also been chosen to lead the Canadian men’s Olympic team, meaning Team Canada’s leadership will have the same approach to the occasion. of the two tournaments. Cooper is the longest-serving coach among active NHL drivers, leading the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Despite the absence of NHL players over the past two Olympic cycles, Team Canada can rely on veterans who have had Olympic Games experience, including two-time Olympic gold medalist Sidney Crosby. The now 37-year-old scored the “golden goal” that gave Canada victory in front of his fans at Vancouver 2010, and went on to captain Team Canada when they won gold in Sochi 2014. Alex Pietrangelo, 34, is the other Olympic athlete who is part of the 4 Nations Showdown team, he who also wore the colors of Team Canada at the Games of Sochi 2014.

Sidney Crosby celebrates the Golden Goal
Sidney Crosby celebrates his Golden Goal at the Vancouver Olympic Games on February 28, 2010.

Canada is the most successful country in men’s Olympic ice hockey with a haul of 16 medals, including nine gold. In the two most recent Olympic tournaments played without NHL players, Canada still managed to win a bronze medal at PyeongChang 2018, but finished sixth in 2022.

Team Canada’s rivals at the 4 Nations Showdown also field a small number of Olympic veterans. Team USA will only have one Olympic athlete. Unlike the situation found within Team Canada, the only American Olympic athlete on the roster is its youngest player, Brock Faber, 22, who played at Beijing 2022 before reaching the NHL.

Finland won gold at Beijing 2022, but no member of that Olympic roster is currently playing in the NHL. The Swedish team brings together three Olympic athletes, namely defenders Rasmus Dahlin (PyeongChang 2018, at the age of 17, before reaching the NHL) and Erik Karlsson (Sochi 2014), as well as forward Gustav Nyquist ( Sochi 2014).

Team Canada will no doubt want to get to know Team Sweden well at the 4 Nations Showdown since these countries are expected to be part of Group A for the preliminary phase of the Olympic tournament, along with Switzerland and Italy. Group B will consist of Finland, Germany, Czechia and Denmark, while Group C currently features Russia, Slovakia, Latvia and the United States. The composition of the groups could, however, change if Russia is not allowed to participate in the Milano Cortina 2026 tournament and this place is instead given to .

What will be the competition format at the 4 Nations Showdown?

The competition will begin with a round robin, with each team playing three matches. This will prepare the table for a final in a match between the first two teams. In round robin play, if there is a tie at the end of regulation time, the teams will play a 10-minute sudden death overtime played three against three, followed by a three-round shootout if necessary. In the final, a tie at the end of regulation time would be followed by sudden death overtime periods lasting 20 minutes each until one team scores a goal.

Where will I be able to watch the 4 Nations Confrontation matches?

In Canada, the matches will be broadcast on Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Tickets can be purchased at nhl.com.

Formation of Team Canada for the 4 Nations Showdown

Attackers
Sam Bennett
Anthony Cirelli
Sidney Crosby
Brandon Hagel
Seth Jarvis
Travis Konecny
Nathan MacKinnon
Brad Marchand
Mitch Marner
Connor McDavid
Brayden Point
Sam Reinhart
Mark Stone

Defenders
Kale Makar
Josh Morrissey
Colton Parayko
Alex Pietrangelo
Travis Sanheim
Shea Theodore
Devon Toews

Guardians
Jordan Binnington
Adin Hill
Sam Montembeault

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