4 Nations Face-Off: US, Canada, Finland, Sweden name first players

The United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden have named the first six players for next season's 4 Nations Face-Off.

That tournament, which will take place in the middle of the 2024-25 season from Feb. 12-20 in Boston and Montreal, will serve as an appetizer for NHL players' return to the Olympics at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy.

All 24 players selected have either won an international gold medal, the Stanley Cup or an individual NHL award. Four players won awards this season.

The countries were required to name six players by Friday and the remaining players on the team (20 skaters, three goalies) will be announced from Nov. 29 to Dec. 2. A player must be on an NHL roster by Dec. 2 in order to be named.

Here are the early players named:

United States

F Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs

F Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers

F Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights

D Adam Fox, New York Rangers

D Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks

D Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins

Analysis: Impressive offensive possibilities. Matthews has two 60-goal seasons. Playmaker Eichel had a strong playoff run in 2023 and feisty Tkachuk led the Panthers in scoring the past two postseasons. Hughes just won the Norris Trophy and Fox won previously.

No goaltender was named, but there are plenty of possibilities, including two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck, 2023-24 runner-up Thatcher Demko, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman.

Canada

F Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins

F Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche

F Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins

F Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers

F Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Cale Makar, Avalanche

Analysis: Very deep down the middle. MacKinnon just won the Hart Trophy and McDavid won three times, plus the Conn Smythe Trophy as 2024 playoff MVP. They combined for 272 points this season. Crosby, an Olympic hero, and Point had 90 or more points each of the last two seasons. Marchand provides goals and grit. Makar, always in the mix for the Norris Trophy, can feed this talented group or join them on the rush.

No goaltender was named. The Canadian goaltending pool isn't as strong as the United States, but Edmonton's Stuart Skinner just went to the Final and St. Louis' Jordan Binnington won the Stanley Cup in 2019.

Finland

F Sebastian Aho, Carolina Hurricanes

F Aleksander Barkov, Florida Panthers

F Mikko Rantanen, Colorado Avalanche

D Miro Heiskanen, Dallas Stars

D Esa Lindell, Stars

G Juuse Saros, Nashville Predators

Finland will need someone to help shut down opponents' scorers and two-time Selke Trophy winner Barkov is one of the best. Rantanen and Aho are dangerous offensive players and Heiskanen and Lindell are familiar with each other as NHL teammates.

Finland is the only country that named a goaltender on Friday and you can't argue with the choice of two-time All-Star and Vezina finalist Saros. Buffalo's Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colorado's Justus Annunen are other possibilities.

Sweden

F Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators

F William Nylander, Toronto Maple Leafs

F Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers

D Gustav Forsling, Florida Panthers

D Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning

D Erik Karlsson, Pittsburgh Penguins

Analysis: Hedman and Karlsson are former Norris Trophy winners and Forsling was the best defenseman during the Panthers' championship run. The forwards are solid and there are more to choose from, such as Elias Pettersson, Jesper Bratt and Adrian Kempe.

No goaltenders were named, but Ottawa's Linus Ullmark and New Jersey's Jacob Markstrom will be in the mix.

What is the format for the 4 Nations Face-Off?

Seven games will be played over a nine-day period from Feb. 12 to 20, 2025. There would be designated practice days on Feb. 10 and Feb. 11.

Each team will play three tournament games in a round robin format. Three points will be awarded for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in overtime/shootout, one point for a loss in overtime/shootout and zero points for a loss in regulation. The overtime format will be three-on-three sudden death for a 10-minute period, followed by a three-round shootout.

The two teams with the best tournament record will then advance to a one-game final. The overtime format will be five-on-five sudden death through successive 20-minute periods until one team scores.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 4 Nations Face-Off: First NHL players named for tournament