Team Canada announced its roster for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off on Thursday evening. With a great deal of talent to choose from, head coach Jon Cooper and general manager Don Sweeney had a considerable challenge deciding which outstanding NHLers would represent Canada in this tournament.
The Team Canada roster includes Sam Bennett, Anthony Cirelli, Sidney Crosby, Brandon Hagel, Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, and Mark Stone up front, and Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore, and Devon Toews on the blue line, while Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault will man the crease.
Canada's roster for the #4Nations Face-Off is set! 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/9W9lw6LR40
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 4, 2024
Here’s a look at what Team Canada got right and wrong in assembling their roster.
Team Canada Notable Omissions
It’s difficult to refer to players not included in the roster selection as a “snub.” With a large talent pool to choose from, it came down to selecting the 20 skaters and three goaltenders who would give Canada the best chance to win the tournament. However, some very talented players were omitted, which will keep the “right vs. wrong” debate going on in the days and weeks ahead and beyond if Canada does not win this tournament.
Evan Bouchard
The right-shot defenseman scored 82 points last season and is an elite puck-mover who would work well with Canada’s talent. He was likely left off because he has had issues with his defensive play. Canada selected a grittier defensive group for this tournament, leaving McDavid as the lone representative from the Edmonton Oilers.
John Tavares
The argument to include Tavares was that he has 11 goals and 22 points in 23 games for a Toronto Maple Leafs team that leads the Atlantic Division despite missing Auston Matthews for most of November. Before Wednesday’s games, Tavares ranked ninth in points and tied for 20th in goals among all Canadian skaters. He also won 59.4 percent of his faceoffs, the best mark among any candidate within reasonable consideration except for Jamie Benn.
Connor Bedard
The 19-year-old has struggled a bit on a weak and underachieving Chicago Blackhawks squad, scoring five goals and 19 points in 25 games this season, as the Hawks struggle to find ways to get him the puck. Some thought this would be a good time to get him some top-level international experience ahead of the Winter Olympics. It would also have been exciting to see Sidney Crosby, McDavid, and Bedard on the same team, representing three different eras of NHL stars. For now, Bedard will have to wait until 2026 to represent Canada.
Noah Dobson
After a 70-point performance last season, Dobson has started slow this season, with just one goal via an empty net and ten assists in 26 games. That’s probably why the talented 24-year-old was left off the team, as Sweeney stated that many of the roster decisions were made based on players’ poor starts to the year or roster identity decisions.
Of course, there could be changes before the Feb. 12 start date. Injuries could make players unavailable when those left out might be called upon.
Canada Chooses “Team” vs. “Talent”
By leaving more “talented” players off the roster, Canada has assembled a squad that focuses on identity, which is a sound strategy in a tournament loaded with talent. As a veteran of international competition, Crosby was a great choice not only because of his talent but also because of his proven leadership. In selecting the Colorado Avalanche’s Makar and Toews, Canada will ice one of the league’s best defence pairings of the last few years, and they are locks to play together in this tournament.
In choosing their roster, Team Canada decided their approach was not to bring the most skilled players to fill out the roster but rather to get players with the skills necessary to complete a fourth or “checking” line, which is why the Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli and Brandon Hagel were selected. While that may bother some people who saw their favourite player omitted from the team, Canada chose players who are skilled in other areas that could be useful in this type of tournament.
Related: Team USA Announces 4 Nations Face-Off Roster
In addition to knowing Cooper’s coaching style, Cirelli and Hagel have spent 1,114 minutes together at 5-on-5 over the past three seasons, outscoring their opponent 65-52 with a 55.8 percent expected goals share. This duo plays very well together, and with a projected linemate of Mark Stone, Canada will have the best fourth line of the four teams in the tournament.
Cirelli is also an excellent penalty killer, which is crucial against opponents with outstanding offensive talent. Hagel, who Cooper has called his “Swiss army knife,” has been projected to see some time on the top line with McDavid at center and either Sam Reinhart or Nathan McKinnon on the other wing.
Canada’s Achilles’ Heel
One reason Canada selected more defensive-minded blueliners like Colton Parayko and Travis Sanheim is that the team’s weakness is in net. The trio of Binnington, Hill, and Montembault is decent, but none are that impressive in a tournament with many skilled scorers.
Binnington and Hill have the championship pedigree and will not be overwhelmed by the competition, and all three have good numbers so far this season. Hill has a .900 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.67 goals-against average (GAA). Binnington has a .899 SV% and a 2.87 GAA, while Montembeault has a .901 SV% and 2.99 GAA. However, they have all been inconsistent, which is a concern in a short tournament such as the 4 Nations.
This may be the area that Team Canada got the most wrong: passing over goalies like Logan Thompson, Cam Talbot, or Stuart Skinner. While each one has question marks, Thompson is the best Canadian goalie this season in goals saved above expected, per Evolving-Hockey.
In assembling its roster, Team Canada got more things right than wrong. However, the only way to know if they made the right decisions is if they take home the gold medal when the 4 Nations Face-Off is said and done.
