Kings Won't Be Well Represented in Four Nations Face-Off

The Four Nations Face-Off will be an excellent marketing and growth product for Hockey and the NHL. Unfortunately for the Kings, they will likely be represented by a single player.

According to some early roster predictions, the Kings will likely only be sending Adrian Kempe. Kempe himself is a slam-dunk, and only a select group of Swedish wingers are higher on the depth chart –Filip Forsberg of Nashville and William Nylander of Toronto. Kempe not only has participated for Team Sweden in other tournaments but has also continued to trend well in the NHL since being thrust full-time onto the wing of Anze Kopitar in 2021-22, and this year, he continues to hum right along.

He's almost a point-per-game player (12g-12a-24p in 25gp +10) who showcases a combination of speed, a wicked shot, vision, and responsibility with a dash of physicality. He plays in all situations, unlike many of the Swedish forwards. Like I said, he's a no-brainer for Team Sweden.

The selection process becomes incredibly tight, with only four teams in the tournament. Kevin Fiala would be a lock for Team Switzerland, but they are not considered one of the major four hockey nations. The same would go for Kopitar of Slovenia. There would've also been potential for Vladislav Gavrikov if Russia was involved.

The one potential snub for the Kings will be Mikey Anderson, who is likely not being considered for the United States. Anderson is having an excellent season without Drew Doughty and has been an elite shutdown defenseman during his pro career. His season to date should have garnered more respect regarding being a candidate for the U.S.

An Anderson-Brock Faber pairing checks a lot of boxes and would arguably be the best shutdown pairing the United States could put together. That pairing also would cause pain and suffering to those in LA who believe the Minnesota Wild won the Fiala-Faber trade.

To the North, Team Canada should be stacked entirely, so it's not a major surprise that a player like Phillip Danault wouldn't be considered. The same goes for Brandt Clarke or Quinton Byfield, who must be more established and more impactful to break through a loaded roster like Canada's.

Doughty was the one player who should have been in consideration for making Team Canada. He has been sidelined for the entire season, and while his most recent injury update has him returning in January, the injury likely cost him consideration for the tournament.

Doughty is coming off a season in which he scored 15 goals, the second-highest total in his career. He also notched 50 points (35 assists) and was a +15. His underlying analytics were better than the depth defenseman projected to make the team, but to be fair, the top three pairs look virtually untouchable even if Doughty were healthy.

It’s fair to assume that Doughty wouldn't have played much, even if he did make the team. Sadly, this was possibly the last international tourney in which Doughty might have had a legitimate shot at making Team Canada.

Doughty is only getting older, and Canada's projected D-core is likely the most competitive on any international roster. However, all is not lost for Doughty. He’s already well accomplished on the international stage winning four gold medals: Olympics x 2, a World Cup in 2016, and a U20 World Juniors. He also has a silver medal at the World Championships.

So, while it is likely Doughty's last international opportunity (even if NHL players were cleared to play in the Olympics 2026+2030), the real downside is that the injury canceled him out, virtually dissipating his future outlook for Canada in international play.

The only trophy Doughty cares about is Lord Stanley, and that opportunity also looks to be fading rapidly. The tournament will likely be a hit, but the Kings will be mostly absent.