By Canadian Press

NHL stars relish chance to play best-on-best hockey at 4 Nations Face-Off

Dec 5, 2024 | 2:40 PM

Brady Tkachuk remembers skipping school to watch his dad play in the 2006 Olympics.

Now it’s his turn — finally — to play international hockey against the best players in the world.

The Ottawa Senators captain has been named to the United States’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. He’s one of 20 players on Canadian NHL teams set to take part in February’s battle between Canada, the U.S., Finland and Sweden.

“You grow up and it’s Stanley Cup and winning a gold medal. Those are the two goals,” Tkachuk said Thursday. “I think I’ve dreamt of an event like this since I was a little kid. I know it’s still a long way away, but can’t help just be super excited about it.”

The rosters unveiled Wednesday include the NHL’s brightest lights, from Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid and Toronto Maple Leafs sniper Auston Matthews to Winnipeg Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Vancouver Canucks blueliner Quinn Hughes.

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Many clubs are sending players to different international squads, including the Sens, who’ll see Tkachuk play for the U.S. while goalie Linus Ullmark takes the crease for Sweden.

Ullmark was quick to answer when asked whether he planned to trash talk his NHL teammate.

“Buddy, he’ll sucker punch me out of the blue if I do that,” he said with a grin. “No, no. I’m not going to do that. … But there might be a wink here and there for certain players if I have the opportunity to play.”

The 4 Nations tournament — set to take place in Montreal and Boston — is the closest NHLers have come to playing best-on-best international hockey since the 2016 World Cup.

“I think it’s going to be really exciting for the players, of course, but the fans,” said Matthews. “It’s been a while since we’ve seen kind of best-on-best like this. It’s a pretty good precursor for the Olympics the following year. I think everybody’s really excited. It’ll be fun.”

Now that the rosters have been announced, speculation has turned to details such as which players will skate together and what each country’s power play will look like.

“We were joking around, like, if you’re a coach sitting in the dressing room, looking at the whiteboard, picking out lines and power plays and combinations and all that, there are so many great options,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey, who’s on Team Canada.

“To get that opportunity, it’s definitely something I don’t take lightly.”

The tournament will replace the 2025 NHL all-star game, but Oilers defenceman Mattias Ekholm believes hockey fans will still get a chance to see the sport’s very best.

“I think every team that’s in the tournament is pretty much an all-star roster,” said Ekholm, who’s been named to Sweden’s team. “You can look at all the rosters and think whatever you think. But, in my opinion, it’s going to come down to whoever can get it together the quickest and to the highest level in that short period of time. I mean, you lose the first game and you’re pretty much out of it, almost.”

Ekholm will be joined on Sweden’s squad by regional rival Rasmus Andersson. The Calgary Flames defenceman will partake in international hockey for the first time since the U-18 World Championships in 2014.

From playoffs to parenthood, a variety of factors have barred Andersson from playing in a tre kronor jersey over the past decade.

“I’ve never been able to play (at the senior level) and I’ve always loved playing for my country. It’s something I never take for granted,” he said. “It’s the first time in — what — eight years that it’s best-on-best. … I’m super excited about it.”

Winger Patrik Laine just returned to the Canadiens’ lineup on Tuesday, but said he had a feeling he was in the running to make Finland’s team.

“It’s always really cool to put on that jersey. It’s always a privilege to be representing our country,” he said. “And obviously with these best-on-best events, the World Cup for us didn’t go too well last time. So we’ll try to get a little redemption this time. I feel like we’ve got a really good team.”

Finland tends to be underrated heading into international hockey play, said Canucks goalie Kevin Lankinen.

“We’re just a small country from the north there. It’s pretty unique that we’ve produced so many good players,” he said. “And just being part of (4 Nations), I think we want to go there with the winning mindset and prove that we’re the top country in the world.”

Being tapped for the tournament had some NHLers reminiscing about their favourite memories of watching their country play Thursday.

Canucks centre Elias Pettersson can still vividly recall the gold-medal game where Sweden bested Finland at the 2006 Olympics in Turin.

“I was so fired up watching (Henrik) Lundqvist, I was goalie the next practise,” he said. “It brings back good memories and now to be part of this, it’s very cool.”

— With files from Donna Spencer in Calgary.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 5, 2024.

Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press

<!– Photo: 7a9801b593885e6d7b7843b054697014d4b9bac17e97ecbbe8293bfa0efa6144.jpg, Caption: Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) celebrates after a scoring a goal during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Anaheim Ducks, Sunday, Dec. 1, 2024, in Anaheim, Calif. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Jayne-Kamin-Oncea