Canada's Failure At World Juniors Ratchets Up Pressure On 4 Nations Face-Off Lineup

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off is fast approaching, and with it, the pressure on a 4 Nations favorite such as the Canadian team is on the rise as well. But, Canada’s failure to win gold — or even qualify for the medal round — at the recent IIHF World Junior Championship has ratcheted up the pressure higher than it otherwise would’ve been heading into the tournament.

The real area of contention for Canada will be the players who aren’t necessarily superstars, at least, compared to the other players selected for the 4 Nations Face-Off. While most of Canada’s roster choices were no-brainers, players including Anthony Cirelli, Brandon Hagel and Travis Konecny aren’t those same type of no-brainer picks. And that’s not a slight to them as players or people. They’ve all played very well this season.

The problem here is that, much like the Canadian philosophy at the world juniors, there were more targeted selections as opposed to taking the best players based solely on talent. And if Canada doubles down and loses the 4 Nations, you know there will be a chorus of complainers who pick apart every choice on the Canadian roster and blast any player who hasn’t contributed many positive things.

The challenge here is clear for Canada’s picks: produce, and justify your selection. Or, on the flip side, struggle and find yourself on message boards everywhere in a negative light. It really is that straightforward, and the Canadian players are going to be under all sorts of pressure to generate a tournament win and put their country back at the top of the podium in international hockey.

Injuries may yet change the composition of Canada’s lineup, but if everyone stays healthy, there’s going to be a clear delineation of duties. At the top of the pyramid for the Canadians are superstar forwards Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon. And after that, the team is going to need both secondary scoring and solid defense that helps a group of Canadian goalies who definitely don't jump off the page.

That’s where players like Cirelli, Konecny and Hagel come in. They don’t have to lead the way for Canada’s scorers, but they can take the pressure off the top talents by chipping in at least a little bit of offense. But, more importantly, they need to be defensively sound on every shift or suffer the consequences in the hearts and minds of Canadian fans who already had a sour taste in their mouths after the world junior letdown.

And if Canada does flame out at two best-on-best-type tournaments, you’d better believe there will be an outcry over the way the brass at Hockey Canada pick out their lineups. It’s incredibly high-stakes for all involved, and it’s only going to get more pressure-packed as the 4 Nations Face-Off draws nearer.

All of Canada’s picks are under the microscope. It’s simply the reality they face, and that’s not about to change regardless of who’s on the roster. But losing out again will definitely turn the heat up on the people put in charge of Canada's teams.

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