For the first time since 2016, the NHL's premier players will be donning their home country’s colors in an international hockey tournament. While a few star players and countries are not represented in this 4 Nations Tournament, hockey fans are in for a treat as Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland compete for international hockey bragging rights.
Canada is at a bit of a crossroads as they have not reached the semifinals in each of the last two World Junior Tournaments and had an early exit from the 2022 Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, the United States has won back-to-back gold medals at the World Juniors and has seemed to close the gap on Canada with stellar talent at every level, including the NHL.
Sweden and Finland-born players have long since made their presence known in the NHL. But both the quality and quantity of talented players from Sweden and Finland have seemingly grown in droves. These countries are anxious to make a statement on a big stage that they deserve to be in the conversation of a global hockey powerhouse.
With plenty to look forward to beginning Wednesday, here is a preview of the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
2025 4 Nations Face-Off Schedule
- Feb. 12 - Canada vs Sweden - 8 PM ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 13 - USA vs Finland - 8 PM ET (ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 15 - Finland vs Sweden - 1 PM ET (ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 15 - USA vs Canada - 8 PM ET (ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 17 - Canada vs Finland - 1 PM ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 17 - Sweden vs USA - 8 PM ET (TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS)
- Feb. 20 - Championship - TBD vs TBD - 8PM (ESPN, ESPN+)
4 Nations Team Previews
Team Canada Analysis
Strength - Offense
The offensive talent on this roster is unbelievable. Led by Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon and Sidney Crosby, this forward group can hit a gear that arguably no other forward group from any country can touch. On defense, Cale Makar and Drew Doughty can produce as well as any defenseman in the world. The fact that Mitch Marner, Sam Reinhart and Brad Marchand are a bit of an afterthought should scare opponents.
Weakness - Goaltending
While both Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill are Stanley Cup Champion goaltenders, they are not nearly as strong as the caliber in the forward and defensive groups. They also are not the high-end caliber of the tournament’s competing goaltending tandems. Binnington and Hill need to bring their A-games to shut down the level of talent they will face in this tournament.
Potential Differentiator - Experience
Team Canada’s roster has a remarkable balance of talent and experience. At both the NHL and international levels, this team has loads of experience overcoming adversity and winning the ultimate prize. Crosby, Doughty and Marchand, along with several teammates and coach Jon Cooper, bring experience and leadership that no other team in this tournament boasts. It could very well be a key reason for their success if they win this tournament.
Team United States Analysis
Strength - Goaltending
Team USA boasts phenomenal netminders. Connor Hellebuyck will likely be the starter, with Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman serving as backups. This trio has respectively been among the NHL’s elite for years. These excellent goalies should free up the U.S. players to play more freely and take some offensive chances knowing that mistakes can be bailed out.
Weakness - Youth
There are far more question marks around the roster's general chemistry, experience and roles than that of Team Canada. This roster is very inexperienced and not many of the players have seen NHL playoff success. A few players will be playing a different position than normal for depth's sake, and generally, not much of this roster has played together, unlike their tournament opponents. We will see if the raw talent can overcome questions around winning pedigree.
Potential Differentiator - Physicality
Between Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, J.T. Miller and Vincent Trocheck, bodies will be flying all over the ice. If those guys can create space for Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and fellow talented forwards, the U.S. will have a clearer path to production. Team USA’s physical forwards will forecheck hard and be pests, forcing opposing defensemen and goaltenders to be more cautious, which can create mistakes. Look for this team to try to bully their opponents.
Team Sweden Analysis
Strength - Defensemen
The six defensemen projected to man Team Sweden’s blue line are a great combination of size, production, reliability and experience. The ability of this defense core to neutralize opponent chances and quickly move the puck up ice to the forwards could dictate the success of Team Sweden. Stanley Cup winners Victor Hedman and Gustav Forsling lead an impressive group of defensemen looking to carry their team to the Championship.
Weakness - Centermen
The projected centermen of Team Sweden leave plenty to be desired. They have either underperformed this season or lack a certain level of production, defensive reliability or physicality that opponent centermen will possess. Mika Zibanejad, Elias Pettersson, Joel Eriksson Ek and Elias Lindholm are high-ceiling players but have not shown much this year. This may be a position that Team Sweden needs to disguise.
Potential Differentiator - Coaching
Sweden coach Sam Hallam has not coached in North America, and this will be the third time he has coached international competition. That inexperience with North American hockey could be a disadvantage, but it could be an advantage given that he may foster a play style that Sweden’s opponents would not know. It will be interesting to see how Hallam mans the bench and pulls strings.
Team Finland Analysis
Strength - Forwards
Aleksander Barkov is one of the most reliable forwards in the world. He makes for an extremely challenging matchup for opposing centers. Barkov leads a talented Finland center group that can produce offensively and neutralize the opposition. They are complemented by high-end, high-ceiling wingers Mikko Rantanen, Patrik Laine, Artturi Lehkonen and more. The opposing teams will have their hands full with this deep, talented forward group.
Weakness - Defensemen
An injury to what would have been top defenseman Miro Heiskanen left an already shallow defense core even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, not much needs to be said other than, perhaps these guys can prove doubters wrong. This group will be facing an uphill battle against high-octane opposing forward groups.
Potential Differentiator - Balance
Fortunately for Team Finland, what they lack on defense, they make up for in goaltending. Projected starter Juuse Saros has finished in the top six in Vezina voting for four consecutive seasons. He is a bona fide star and may be able to hide defensive deficiencies.
As mentioned, Team Finland’s forward group is deep and very balanced. Sebastian Aho, Roope Hintz and Mikael Granlund, along with the aforementioned Finnish stud forwards, give this team stability on both sides of the puck. A star goalie backing this forward group brings impressive balance to this roster.
4 Nations Prediction for 2025
Canada Tops The United States To Win The 4 Nations Face-Off
At the end of the day, only one team has Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Sidney Crosby and Cale Makar. The top-end talent of this team is unmatched. Mix in the experience of a coach like Jon Cooper, and this roster is just too good.
As mentioned, Canada is looking at itself in the mirror as the gap has closed between them and the next best global hockey powerhouse. These talented, experienced NHL superstars are keenly aware of that and have a chip on their shoulders to recertify Canada as the standard of global hockey. This team is too good and too motivated to fade, so I'llgladly back them to win the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
