Four Nations Face-Off roster reactions

The inaugural Four Nations Face-Off is set to take place over the NHL all-star break this season. It will occur from Feb. 12, 2025 - Feb. 20, 2025.

The games will be played at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec and the TD Garden in Boston, Mass.

The four nations participating in the tournament are the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden.

All four teams announced their rosters on Wednesday.

Here are my reactions to the rosters.

United States

If there is one position that the United States has the biggest advantage in it would be in goal. Connor Hellebuyck (Jets), Jake Oettinger (Stars) and Jeremy Swayman (Bruins) are three of the best goalies in the league currently.

With this much star power in goal, you might think that they wouldn’t give up a goal.

These are all NHL players at the end of the day and they are still some of the most talented players in the world.

Besides, in goal, the United States has a ton of talent. Their forward core should be able to put up goals and I think Kyle Connor (Jets) could be one of the best players for the United States.

The Defense is just as good and rounds out what I believe is a very strong roster.

Two players I was surprised didn’t make the roster are Tage Thompson (Sabres) and Cole Caufield (Canadiens)

Canada

For a long time, Canada has been considered the best country for hockey in the world. They have shown this by putting out a great roster.

The forwards are where this roster shines. It helps when you have three generational talents playing in the NHL.

Sidney Crosby (Penguins) and Connor McDavid (Oilers) will lead this team. There are many other great players such as Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) in the forward core.

Their Defense is outstanding. Led by Cale Makar (Avalanche) it is another spot where Canada looks great. One surprise for the defense was Travis Sanheim (Flyers).

In goal is where Canada struggles. While they have good goalies they have the weakest of all four teams. Their roster will need to make up for the goaltending.

One of the biggest snubs for Canada is Connor Bedard (Blackhawks). He has been off to a slow start this year but has dominated international play, especially the World Junior Championships.

Finland

Hockey has always been big in the Nordic region but it has recently blown up even more. Now some of the top players in the NHL come from the region.

Finland’s team might not have as many top-tier players as Canada and the United States, but they still will be able to put up a great fight.

Their forward core is led by Sebastian Aho (Hurricanes) and Mikko Rantanen (Avalanche). These two are some of the best players in the NHL and will give Finland a chance against any team.

Their defense is not the greatest and could be the downfall of the team. Miro Heiskanen (Stars) is one of the better defensemen in the NHL and will help out Finland, but their defense core looks weak compared to others.

In net, they are set with one of the best goalies in Juuse Saros (Predators).

Finland didn’t leave many off the list that people thought would make it, but one who was a little bit of a surprise is Jesperi Kotkaniemi (Hurricanes).

Sweden

The final team competing in the tournament is Sweden. I like the way this roster looks.

They have a ton of talent on offense which will be highlighted by Filip Forsberg (Predators) and Lucas Raymond (Red Wings).

Fans should be excited to see how Leo Carlsson (Ducks) will perform.

On defense, they are solid with the headliners being Rasmus Dahlin (Sabres) and Victor Hedman (Lightning). They have a great mix of offensive defensemen and defensive defensemen.

In goal, they look great being able to send three quality goals. The likely start should be Linus Ullmark (Senators) who has shown he is able to be a No. 1 goalie.

One player I am surprised didn’t make this team is Hampus Lindholm (Bruins).

Sweden is a team I really like and could surprise us in this tournament. They have a very good mix of players and will put up a fight against the United States and Canada.

Anyone of these teams could win the tournament. Each is made up of NHL stars.

My favorite right now would have to be the United States. I feel they have the most well-rounded roster.

Canada and Sweden could also take the tournament I feel that they both have really good rosters but their goaltending is not as good as the United States. Finland shouldn’t be counted out, but I feel they are the weakest roster and they will have the most difficult time.

The all-star break is going to be fun to watch this year.

Andrew Matz is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email atm5759@psu.edu.