World Championship serving as tryout for NHLers chasing 4 Nations Face-Off roster spots

May 15, 2024

World Championship serving as tryout for NHLers chasing 4 Nations Face-Off roster spots

Credit: Photo from Anders Marshall/Euro Hockey

The IIHF World Hockey Championship saw an uptick in NHL talent this year – and it’s easy to understand why.

Canada, the USA, Finland, and Sweden will participate in the inaugural — and potentially the only — 4 Nations Face-Off next February. Fans from non-participating teams scoffed at the idea, but NHL fans generally welcomed the idea of best-on-best hockey coming before the Olympics.

So, while winning when representing your country always means something, there’s something else on the line for those in four of the 16 competing nations.

For Canada, goaltending will be a hot topic. Adin Hill and Stuart Skinner were two of the better Canadian-born keepers during the 2023-24 NHL season, which, obviously, doesn’t hold a candle to what the Americans can boast with Connor Hellebuyck, Thatcher Demko, Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger.

Jordan Binnington should find himself in the mix, and this tournament is a good opportunity for him to impress Hockey Canada brass. Besides that terrible third period against Austria on Tuesday, he has looked good for the most part. Hockey Canada has shown loyalty to goaltenders at other levels in the past, often giving goalies that went through U-17 and U-18 national team events the benefit of the doubt heading into the World Junior Championship. Given Binnington’s Stanley Cup experience, and the spurts of greatness he’s capable of, a gold medal run this year could be huge for his chances of making Canada – especially given Stuart Skinner’s recent struggles with Edmonton.

Sticking with Canada, Connor Bedard is a shoo-in to make Canada’s roster next year. Watching him play in a competitive environment with a realistic shot at winning a championship will give Canada a chance to gauge his performance on the international stage. We’ve seen him dominate at junior levels, but now he’s playing some incredible hockey with the men’s team, entering Wednesday’s action as the tournament’s leading scorer despite being one of the youngest players on the team at just 18.

Other than maybe Owen Power or perhaps Colton Parayko, Bedard might be the only player with a realistic chance of making Canada’s roster in 2025, but it doesn’t hurt to have a young guy like Olen Zellweger there to prove he’s worth a spot down the line.

USA, meanwhile, has a handful of players hoping to participate next year. Captain Brady Tkachuk is a lock, while Trevor Zegras, Cole Caufield and Matt Boldy should contend for spots up front. Boldy, in particular, has been one of USA’s best players early on in the tournament, helping strengthen his case after a 69-point season. Brock Nelson also had a strong year, and his play at this event with Boldy won’t hurt his case. Beyond that, this is a great chance for USA to get another look at Shane Pinto, and both Will Smith and Ryan Leonard will be part of the Olympic conversation for another 15 years. This is a good opportunity to expose them to a whole other level of play.

Jake Sanderson, Zach Werenski and Seth Jones are three veterans with a good chance at joining the blueline next year. And then there’s Luke Hughes, who, after a fantastic rookie season with New Jersey, will definitely be in contention. It might be too early for him to make the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, but you should fully expect him to be involved with the 2026 Olympic team at the very least.

If you want to look ahead to the 2030 Olympics, could Trey Augustine be USA’s No. 1 goaltender? Don’t bet against it.

Both Finland and Sweden are in interesting positions because both could factor players outside of the NHL into their final roster decisions. With the way Finland’s Oliwer Kaski is playing, could he make the trek over for a week before the Liiga playoff push? His NHL attempt didn’t go so well, but there’s no question he’d be an asset. Forward Jesse Puljujärvi and defensemen Olli Määttä are definitely both going to be considered, with Puljujärvi having himself a strong tournament. Mikael Granlund is almost certainly going to be in the team’s top six if he can replicate his success from this year.

The Swedes have the largest contingent of locks of any of the four participants. Lucas Raymond, Adrian Kempe, Andre Burakovsky and Joel Eriksson Ek are no-brainers up front, with Marcus Johansson, Pontus Holmberg, Victor Olofsson and Fabian Zetterlund all putting up solid cases, too. Holmberg, in particular, is having a strong tournament after playing a depth role with the Toronto Maple Leafs this year.

Sweden’s blueline in Czechia isn’t much different from what we’ll see next winter. Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson and Rasmus Dahlin will be there for sure, while Jonas Brodin, and Marcus Pettersson will put up good arguments, too. Former San Jose Shark Tim Heed has looked excellent in his first World Championship experience. Could he be a long-shot option? Rasmus Andersson, Mattias Ekholm, Adam Larsson and Hampus Lindholm will make that a difficult proposition, but he’s been a standout on a blueline full of Norris Trophy winners. That has to mean something.

Goaltending-wise, the Swedes have three goaltenders who should factor into the Tre Kronor’s plans for the next decade. Filip Gustavsson should be at the 4 Nations tournament, while Samuel Ersson is coming off a solid rookie campaign in Philadelphia. Jesper Wallstedt is Sweden’s goalie of the future – maybe he’ll be part of the 2026 Olympics, but with Gustavsson and Marc-Andre Fleury still taking up space in Minnesota, the 2025 tourney looks to be out of the question for now.

It’s a strong group, and it’s coming at a time where even the bottom teams are putting up a bigger fight than usual. NHL participation in international play matters – Czechia has gone nuts about having Bedard around, just like they did when Crosby made his senior team debut.

We’re finally within spitting distance of getting a taste of star talent on the world stage again. Let’s just call the World Championship a five-star appetizer.

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