In lieu of the All-Star Game this season, the NHL announced it will host the 4 Nations Face-Off and pit four elite teams from different countries against each other in February. Official rosters were released earlier this week, and three Winnipeg Jets players made the cut to represent the United States and Canada. All the same, a few notable Jets were left off the roster. Who made the cut and who missed out?
Kyle Connor – United States
It’s no surprise to see Kyle Connor on Team USA’s roster. He currently leads the Jets in points (30) and goals (14) and is consistently one of the best players on the ice. He plays a fast, clean game, has an amazing finishing ability, and is on pace for a 40-goal season. He won the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy during the 2021-22 season and is a two-time All-Star.
Related: Team USA’s 4 Nations Face-Off Roster: What They Got Right & Wrong
It’s hard to say precisely how he’ll be utilized by Team USA since the roster has so much depth, but the best guess is he’ll play left wing in the top six. With a strong centre like Jack Eichel or Auston Matthews in combination with a right wing like Matthew Tkachuk or Jack Hughes, Connor may see a lot of offensive success during the tournament.
Connor Hellebuyck – United States
Connor Hellebuyck was another shoo-in for Team USA. This season, he boasts a 16-5-0 record with a goals-against average of 2.14 and a save percentage of .927. He’s a two-time Vezina Trophy winner and won the William M. Jennings Trophy last season. He’s also a four-time All-Star. There was simply no shot Hellebuyck wouldn’t make USA’s roster this season.
TEAM USA’S ROSTER FOR 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF HAS BEEN REVEALED 🇺🇸🦅 pic.twitter.com/CoZmpLumbM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 4, 2024
While he may be the eldest of the goalie trio selected for Team USA, Hellebuyck should undoubtedly be the starter. His numbers are better than those of his fellow USA goaltenders, Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman, and he’s proven time and time again that he’s the greatest in the league. Swayman in particular has struggled a lot this season, so it would realistically come down to a choice between Hellebuyck and Oettinger if there were somehow any questions on who gets first dibs on the net.
Josh Morrissey – Team Canada
Josh Morrissey was another obvious candidate for the 4 Nations Face-Off. The 29-year-old defenceman leads Winnipeg in assists (23) and is currently projected to reach 70 by the end of the season. During the 2023-24 season, he finished with 69 points (10 goals, 59 assists) and continues to prove he’s a valuable asset both offensively and defensively.
While Morrissey is part of the first pair for the Jets, he likely will get bumped down to the second or third pairing on Team Canada. Cale Makar and Devon Toews of the Colorado Avalanche were selected for the roster and will undoubtedly be the first pair. That leaves Morrissey’s partner options limited to Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko. With Pietrangelo, the two would make a good all-around pair with lots of opportunities to generate scoring chances. If he is partnered with Parayko, Morrissey will probably take on more of a defensive role than an offensive one, but the two would do lots of good keeping the puck away from their goalie.
Notable Omissions – Mark Scheifele, Adam Lowry & Neal Pionk
The Jets have so much depth and so many talented players on their roster that it comes as no surprise to see that a few were left off the 4 Nations rosters. The most surprising omission is probably Mark Scheifele, whose name was thrown around several times in the conversation for Team Canada. He’s second to Connor in both goals and points on the Jets and is one of the best centres on the team. Unfortunately, there’s so much talent coming out of Canada that he got the short end of the stick this time. Teams have until Feb. 12 to make substitutions for injury-related reasons, so should Scheifele stay healthy (and others not), he still has an opportunity to play.
“At the same time my heart went out and I felt pretty gutted for [Scheifele] that it shook out that way. He’s an amazing hockey player and has the ability to be there. I tried to be there to support him and just let him know that I was feeling for him because I know how much he wanted to be there,” Morrissey said after Scheifele was left off Canada’s roster (from “Winnipeg Jets’ Morrissey ‘gutted’ over Scheifele’s Team Canada snub,” The Winnipeg Sun, Paul Friesen).
Adam Lowry, who’s in his second season as captain, was a longer shot for Team Canada, but his name was still in the conversation. If the team was in search of someone with leadership capabilities and a lot of grit, he would’ve been a shoo-in. Instead, it looks like Team Canada focused more on the overall offensive and defensive skills of each player they chose. Not to mention, the team is chock full of leadership already with the likes of Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, and Nathan MacKinnon.
As for Team USA, Neal Pionk was likely considered but ultimately left off. He had a fantastic start to the season offensively and already has 22 points in 27 games. Still, like Canada, the United States has a deep pool of NHL talent to choose from, and it’s hard to contend with players like Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.
