In 2017, They Thrived For Jon Cooper As The ‘Kid Line.’ Will Canada’s Coach Reunite Marner, Point And Konecny At 4 Nations?

When coach Jon Cooper spoke to the media after Canada’s full 4 Nations Face-Off roster was announced on Wednesday, he was careful not to commit to any specific line combinations or defense pairings.

But he may have an under-the-radar idea brewing that has worked for him in the past.

When injuries and other issues left the Tampa Bay Lighting one point out of a 2017 wild-card spot after a couple of deep playoff runs, Cooper was tapped to coach Team Canada at the World Championship. Less than a year before that, he had served as Todd McLellan’s assistant on the hybrid Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey.

Canada was coming off back-to-back gold medals as Cooper took the reins in Paris, France and Cologne, Germany.

A relatively young roster with an average age of less than 26, Claude Giroux wore the ‘C’ for Canada while Ryan O’Reilly, Matt Duchene and Marc-Edouard Vlasic served as alternates. At 21, Nathan MacKinnon led the squad in scoring with 15 points. But it was a trio of even younger forwards — and then-rookie defenseman Josh Morrissey, who's also on the 4 Nations squad — who made the Canadian team hum.

“He’s a young player,” Cooper said of Morrissey at the time. “I only see him twice a year. He's a young defenseman, and then you sit there and say, 'Wow. Winnipeg's got a good young defenseman coming up.'”

Colton Parayko, a 24-year-old who had just completed his second NHL season when he suited up at the 2017 Worlds, also returns to the 4 Nations squad.

Up front, rookies Mitch Marner, Brayden Point and Travis Konecny were deployed together in 2017. With their speed, tenacity and energy, they quickly made an immediate impact on what was dubbed the ‘Kid Line.’

After Canada outscored its opponents 17-3 in the tournament’s first three games, Point's two goals in Canada's 6-0 win over Belarus earned him Player of the Game honors for Canada. Konecny and Marner finished with two assists each in that outing.

“I’m just getting them the puck,” said Konecny. “The passes are nothing special, to be honest. They're playing really good and they're finishing all the plays.”

“The kids are all right," said Cooper. “I can’t sit here and pinpoint one guy that has been the engine that’s driven that bus. All three of them have just meshed together. I know that any time our team has maybe had a little bit of a lull, that line has sparked us.”

Now, of course, all three players are in the prime of their careers. Playing under Cooper with the Lightning, Point is a three-time 90-point guy and a 50-goal scorer who leads his team with 16 goals this season. Marner and Konecny are both leading their teams in points.

They're all deserving of Team Canada roster spots. But while fans and media are composing long lists of other qualified Canadian players who missed the final cut, it’s hard not to wonder if Cooper would like to see that special spark ignite again in February.

Since more than a decade has passed since the 2014 Olympics, many players from the under-30 contingent have been vocal about how much they were hoping to grab one of the opportunities to play for their country at 4 Nations or the 2026 Winter Olympics.

Konecny, a master of insulating himself from outside noise, downplayed the dream during a conversation in October.

“Obviously, it’d be a huge honor if you get named to that team,” he said before the Flyers’ season opener. “But my priority right now is focusing on (the Flyers). If that's something that comes along, that's a huge bonus.”

Though Canada was forced to settle for silver in 2017 after Henrik Lundqvist and William Nylander spoiled their party in the shootout of the gold-medal game, Konecny’s face lit up when was reminded of that tournament, where he finished with eight points in 10 games, and his dynamic linemates.

“I remember that,” he grinned. “That was a lot of fun.”

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