In around a month’s time, Hockey Canada will announce its complete roster for the 4 Nations Face Off. The inaugural tournament featuring teams of NHL players representing Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States is set to take place Feb. 12-20, 2025, at TD Garden in Boston and the Bell Centre in Montreal.
Six players have already been announced as being part of Team Canada: defenceman Cale Makar, along with forwards Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Brayden Point and Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. That leaves 17 roster spots to be filled, including eight at forward, six on the blue line, and three between the pipes.
Related: NHL Announces 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament Details
There has been plenty of speculation in Edmonton about how many of McDavid’s NHL teammates could join him on the Canadian roster. Now the experts are starting to weigh in, and their projections will be music to Oilers fans’ ears.
TSN Director of Scouting Craig Button and TSN Hockey analyst Mike Johnson have just revealed their consensus Team Canada lineup with line combinations and defensive pairings. The TSN duo’s 23-man roster includes three Oilers players, with a fourth on the bubble.
Connor McDavid
The only question about McDavid relating to Team Canada is not whether the Richmond Hill product will be on the roster, but who his linemates will be.
To no surprise, the TSN experts have the No. 1 player in the world centering Canada’s No. 1 line. While Button suggested Sam Reinhart to play right wing alongside McDavid, they settled on Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner.
BUILDING TEAM CANADA PIECE-BY-PIECE – With a month until the 4 Nations Face-Off teams are officially named, it’s a prime moment for @CraigJButton & @mike_p_johnson to look at who should make Team Canada 🇨🇦 at this time: https://t.co/Iycr5qAGnt
— TSN Hockey (@TSNHockey) October 29, 2024
Johnson noted how Marner skated with McDavid during the summer, and the two talked about how much they liked playing with each other.
“I think Connor McDavid turning into a bit more of a goal scorer in this kind of a tournament would be nice,” Johnson said. “Mitch Marner (is) a facilitator, and Marner may be a little bit better of a skater than Sam Reinhart.”
Zach Hyman
On the left side of Canada’s top line, Button and Johnson are going with someone that McDavid knows extremely well: Oilers winger Zach Hyman.
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