NHL activities will be on pause in February 2025 to make way for the first edition of the 4 Nations Showdown.
Among the maple leaf, a player from the Montreal Canadiens was retained in Samuel Montembeault, while Nick Suzuki was ignored. Julien BriseBois helped put together the Canadian team as assistant general manager and he says he feels the weight of responsibilities that come with the very demanding selection process, but which he assures is very rigorous. Each choice is scrutinized.
“If we have this debate, it is because there are more players who could have carved out a place for themselves than places,” BriseBois declared on the show 5 to 7 Monday. We can only retain 23 players, and in Canada, we obviously have more than 23 great hockey players. Every year when there is a national selection to be made, and we see it these days with Junior Team Canada, there are always players who could certainly have earned a place on the team, but who are left out. . In our case, things can still change. The tournament takes place in February and it’s only mid-December. There may be injuries between now and then unfortunately, and if that is the case, there are players who were not selected at the beginning of December who will be added to our squad. »
In Montreal, the choice not to have selected CH captain Nick Suzuki caused discussion.
“Nick, he’s a great hockey player, he’s a No. 1 center in the National League. He is used to playing in a big hockey market where there is a lot of pressure and he went to the Stanley Cup final. He has a wealth of experience and a great toolbox. That doesn’t mean he won’t have a spot in February when the time comes. The decisions that will be made between now and then will be based a lot on who is injured, who can’t play, what the player profile is and what his intended role was. It will be done according to the needs of the team to help us win the tournament. »
“He’s an excellent hockey player and I’m sure he would do very well if selected. »
Habs goalkeeper Samuel Montembeault is among the players announced to represent Canada, whom he has already helped win the gold medal at the World Championship in 2023.
BriseBois was the one who shared the good news in Montembeault, while the task of making the announcements was distributed among the five leaders.
“I had to wait until the end of his match since the Canadian was playing that evening. Unfortunately, the Canadian lost that day, which meant that the timing was perhaps a little less auspicious and that he perhaps had less of a smile on his face when I called him. But I tried to make him smile again by making this announcement. It’s a great honor for him as it is for each of the other players. I know he is very honored by this opportunity and will represent the country very well at the event. »
The Vegas Golden Knights are the most represented among the maple leaf with four players, while three come from the Tampa Bay Lightning, of which BriseBois is the GM. In addition, Bolts head coach Jon Cooper will also lead Team Canada, but the duo lent themselves to the decision-making process with complete impartiality. BriseBois went to spy on players from Boston, Pittsburgh, St Louis and even Dallas to avoid bias, but he didn’t really have to sell his salad anyway since the performances of Brayden Point, Brandon Hagel and Anthony Cirelli spoke of themselves.
“We made it our responsibility to go and see players from other teams so that we could have diverse opinions when it came time to deliberate. The reality is that the Lightning players who were selected are very great hockey players. Brayden Point has the third highest goal total over the last two years after Auston Matthews and David Pastrnak. Brandon Hagel compares to MacKinnon, McDavid and Crosby for points at 5-on-5 among Canadiens; he’s an excellent defensive player, one of the best shorthanded players in the league and he’s having an excellent start to the season. As for Anthony Cirelli, he plays every night against the best opposing lines, combines intelligence and physical play, he is excellent on faceoffs and the penalty kill, he has done very well for Canada in past years and he finished in the top-5 for the Selke Trophy a few times. These are selections that neither me nor Jon Cooper really needed to push for, they had their place. »
The tournament will begin on February 12, with a match between Canada and Sweden at the Bell Center in Montreal. Canada will then face the United States on February 15, also at the Bell Centre, before traveling to TD Garden in Boston to face Finland on February 17.
The top two teams after the round robin will face off in the final on February 20 in Boston.
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