On Wednesday, the 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were finally revealed and, naturally, we’re going to milk all the content we can out of that news.
After eight years without best-on-best hockey we’ve been extremely deprived — so deprived that a contrived and meaningless four-team cash grab is starting to feel exciting. USA! Canada! Sweden! Finland! Let’s go!
At Power Rankings HQ we racked our brains all night after the reveal to find the perfect 4 Nations angle for this week’s edition. A bold, fresh take no one else has thought of. A theme so daring that it may completely revolutionize coverage of this tournament.
Anyway, here’s one snub from every team.
Last week: 3
Sean’s ranking: 1
Dom’s ranking: 1
Notable absence: Kirill Kaprizov
This isn’t a snub in the same way as most of the players on this list, because he is not in the tournament as Russia has faced bans from international competition since the invasion of Ukraine in 2022. But is it really best-on-best without Kaprizov, the best player in the league this season?
Here’s what a Team Russia might have looked like. Kaprizov and Nikita Kucherov on the same line would’ve been nasty and the Russian blue line is in a much better place than it used to be too. If they were in the tournament, Russia would slot between Sweden and Finland with a plus-124 Net Rating.
Potential Russia lineup
Kirill Kaprizov — Evgeni Malkin — Nikita Kucherov
Artemi Panarin — Pavel Buchnevich — Andrei Svechnikov
Alex Ovechkin — Ivan Barbashev — Valeri Nichushkin
Yegor Chinakhov — Vladislav Namestnikov — Kirill Marchenko
Matvei Michkov
Mikhail Sergachev — Dmitry Orlov
Vladislav Gavrikov — Artem Zub
Alex Romanov — Dmitry Kulikov
Ivan Provorov
Igor Shesterkin
Ilya Sorokin
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Last week: 1
Sean’s ranking: 3
Dom’s ranking: 2
Snub: Jesperi Kotkaniemi
There’s no denying that Kotkaniemi has had a disappointing career so far after being picked third in 2018. At 24, he still hasn’t proven himself as a top-six player both in his scoring and play-driving ability. He just doesn’t move the needle. Still, to be left off the roster entirely in favor of guys like Joel Armia and Erik Haula feels like a new low. Whether that snub is deserved is in the eye of the beholder.
Last week: 4
Sean’s ranking: 2
Dom’s ranking: 5
Snub: Everybody
If you thought that the Eastern Conference’s leader in points percentage would’ve snuck someone into the tournament, you thought wrong. Dylan Strome, at the moment, would be the highest-scoring Canadian to stay home. Tom Wilson would’ve made sense on the bottom six. Zach Werenski’s monster season in Columbus might’ve squeezed John Carlson out of the Team USA roster. Logan Thompson, Rasmus Sandin … the list goes on. Guess those guys are stuck going on a mid-February vacation instead.
Last week: 5
Sean’s ranking: 4
Dom’s ranking: 3
Notable absence: Tomas Hertl
All the Vegas guys who could’ve made it did, so no true snubs here. Hertl will have to watch from home, however, knowing he’d be Czechia’s top-line center. You can find their projected roster below next to their would-be top player (Boston’s David Pastrnak).
Last week: 8
Sean’s ranking: 5
Dom’s ranking: 4
Snub: John Tavares
It is a little sad to see Tavares’ Team Canada story likely end here. He wasn’t ready to make the Olympic team in 2010 and was injured before the medal round in 2014. No NHL participation at the 2018 and 2022 Olympics hurts, too. The 4 Nations isn’t the Olympics, obviously, but it is our first taste of best-on-best hockey since the 2016 World Cup. Eight years is a long time to create missed opportunities that the best players of that era won’t get back.
Tavares has been really good for the Leafs this season, scoring at a 38-goal and 76-point pace while outscoring teams heavily at five-on-five. It just wasn’t quite good enough, especially with how the pieces fell in Canada’s bottom six.
Players in their 30s, such as Mark Scheifele, have likely been hardest hit by the lack of best-on-best hockey over the past eight years. (Sergei Belski / Imagn Images)
Last week: 2
Sean’s ranking: 6
Dom’s ranking: 7
Snub: Mark Scheifele
The NHL’s absence from the Olympics has been bad news for everyone, but players in their 30s probably have been hit hardest — many have basically watched their primes come and go without a real opportunity to play best-on-best hockey. Scheifele is their poster boy; he’d almost certainly have been on one (or both) of the rosters in 2018 and 2022. Now, he’s on the outside looking in — and on paper that’s the right call, given his ongoing issues as a five-on-five play driver, but that doesn’t make it an easier pill to swallow.
Last week: 9
Sean’s ranking: 8
Dom’s ranking: 6
Snub: Carter Verhaeghe
Did Verhaeghe deserve serious consideration for Team Canada? On merit, probably not — good as he is, the competition is stiff. If you value the Fun Factor, though, that’s another argument entirely. He’s got a knack for doing big stuff in big games that could play well in a tournament like this one.
Last week: 6
Sean’s ranking: 7
Dom’s ranking: 8
Notable absence: Switzerland
Between Nico Hischier, Timo Meier and Jonas Siegenthaler, New Jersey has apparently become the unofficial Swiss HQ of the NHL. In other words, expect a big play for Roman Josi at this year’s trade deadline. (Dougie Hamilton, Simon Nemec and a first, who says no?!)
Unfortunately, a Switzerland entry in the tournament was always unrealistic given there are only nine active NHLers. But that won’t stop us from dreaming about the Devils creating their own little Switzerland to compete in a more important tournament that starts in April.
Last week: 7
Sean’s ranking: 10
Dom’s ranking: 9
Snub: Jason Robertson
All due respect to Matt Duchene, who forced himself into the discussion over the last two months, but Robertson has to be the choice. He picked a heck of a time to play some uninspiring hockey, with scoring rates (0.67 goals per 60, 2.02 points per 60) more than halved from his peak in 2022-23. Team USA’s top six was crowded, though, and Robertson’s game doesn’t quite fit what they were going for further down the lineup.
Last week: 13
Sean’s ranking: 11
Dom’s ranking: 10
Notable absence: Nikita Kucherov
Did you know that Kucherov is averaging 10.56 points per 60 on the power play this season? Because he is. Going back to the 2007-08 season, nobody getting regular power-play minutes outside of Edmonton has done that. He’s never been better.
Last week: 11
Sean’s ranking: 9
Dom’s ranking: 13
Snub: Drew Doughty
At the start of the season, you can bet that Doughty’s name was written in pen on Jon Cooper’s roster. Or marker. Or paint. Something that couldn’t be erased. He’d just turned in some of the best defensive work of his career last season, after all. Injuries happen, though, and while Doughty’s rehab from a broken ankle is on schedule, it’s still a little too early to just assume he’ll be ready. As a potential replacement down the line, though? That’s another story.
Last week: 14
Sean’s ranking: 12
Dom’s ranking: 12
Snub: Thatcher Demko
Poor Thatcher Demko. Who knows what would’ve happened if he was healthy enough to start the season on time? Even then, it was always a numbers game between the pipes for the USA. Someone was always going to be the odd one out between him, Connor Hellebuyck, Jeremy Swayman and Jake Oettinger; Demko’s injury unfortunately made the choice a lot easier. On talent, he’s right there.
Last week: 12
Sean’s ranking: 13
Dom’s ranking: 11
Snub: Evan Bouchard
Canada leaving Bouchard at home is by no means a surprise given how they’ve operated in the past with similarly perceived high-risk defensemen (P.K. Subban and Kris Letang come to mind). Still, given the state of the team’s defense corps, it does feel like a misstep considering Bouchard’s all-world offensive ability and cleaned-up defensive game. There’s only one Canadian defenseman that outshines Bouchard with the puck and there was plenty of room for both at the tournament.
Bouchard brings a lot to the table at five-on-five, not just on the power play. Defensively he has his share of blunders, sure, but anyone who watched him in last year’s playoffs knows he’s a big-game player who has greatly reduced the big mistakes that probably give the Canadian front office nightmares. Bouchard was by far Canada’s biggest snub.
14. Boston Bruins, 14-11-3
Last week: 18
Sean’s ranking: 14
Dom’s ranking: 14
Notable absence: David Pastrnak
This has to be a real bummer for Pastrnak in particular. The tournament is being held in Boston! That’s just cruel.
Would Czechia be a good team? Absolutely not. But they’ve got some talent and it would’ve been cool to see Pastrnak shine for his country.
Potential Czechia lineup
Pavel Zacha — Tomas Hertl — David Pastrnak
Ondrej Palat — Filip Chytil — Martin Necas
Ivan Ivan — David Kampf — Jakub Vrana
Tomas Nosek — Radek Faksa — Jakub Lauko
Filip Hronek — Radko Gudas
Jan Rutta — David Jiricek
John Ludvig — Andrej Sustr
Libor Hajek
Lukas Dostal
Petr Mrazek
David Rittich
Who knows, maybe Dostal would’ve given his best Jonas Hiller impression to make things interesting? He’s certainly used to it in Anaheim.
Last week: 10
Sean’s ranking: 15
Dom’s ranking: 15
Snub: Joel Kiviranta
Not a lot of options here. We’ll always have Kiviranta’s clutch performance in the bubble — an out-of-nowhere Game 7 hat trick (including the overtime series winner!) against the Avalanche to send the Stars to the third round. It was his first game of the series! Imagine not bringing those heroics to the 4 Nations. For shame, Finland. For shame.
Last week: 15
Sean’s ranking: 16
Dom’s ranking: 16
Snub: MacKenzie Weegar
If you don’t think Bouchard was an egregious snub, perhaps we can sell you on Weegar. Plenty of point production, play-driving in tough minutes, the ability to play both sides — that sounds like a great guy to have around as a spare, especially if something happens to Cale Makar. He’s six inches shorter than Colton Parayko, though, so what can you do?
Last week: 16
Sean’s ranking: 17
Dom’s ranking: 17
Snub: Alexis Lafrenière
After the superstar showing Lafrenière had in last year’s playoffs, it did feel like his potential inclusion for Team Canada was gaining some serious traction. That’s especially true given how well he produces at five-on-five. He’ll surely be on the shortlist for the Olympics, though it would help if he cleaned things up without the puck. That’s still a work in progress and an apparent factor given who Canada ended up selecting.
Last week: 22
Sean’s ranking: 18
Dom’s ranking: 18
Snub: Gritty
The only question is where Gritty’s allegiance lies. Is he America-first or will he be proudly alternating between Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim jerseys? Perhaps a Frankenstein jersey foul that features both? These are the real hard-hitting questions, and we expect them to be answered.
Last week: 21
Sean’s ranking: 19
Dom’s ranking: 20
Snub: Sean Monahan
It’s nearly impossible to find Monahan a legit spot on Team Canada, but we’re still going to use this space to remind everyone how good he’s been this season. He’s hovering around a point per game on Columbus’ top line, and the Blue Jackets are winning his five-on-five minutes 23-10.
Last week: 30
Sean’s ranking: 21
Dom’s ranking: 20
Snub: Tristan Jarry
Just kidding.
Last week: 17
Sean’s ranking: 20
Dom’s ranking: 22
Snub: Tage Thompson
The fact that Thompson played himself so firmly into the Team USA discussion is a great, great thing for Sabres fans. Where he might’ve made the most sense was as a spare; the U.S. has plenty of positional versatility across its forward group. Why not add some heavy offensive artillery?
Last week: 25
Sean’s ranking: 22
Dom’s ranking: 21
Snub: Robert Thomas
If Canada was truly dedicated to playing a defensive 4C behind Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby and Brayden Point, Thomas was working at a disadvantage. It’s a shame, though, because he’s one of the league’s gifted playmakers, and seeing him play with elite linemates would be a blast. He should be in the mix as an injury replacement.
Last week: 19
Sean’s ranking: 23
Dom’s ranking: 23
Notable absence: Joey Daccord
Daccord is a Canadian citizen — he just needs his paperwork. He also has a higher save percentage (.912) than any of Canada’s goaltenders and more goals saved above expected (9.69) than the three of them nearly combined. Are we sure Doug Armstrong and company didn’t try to sneak him a passport?
Last week: 23
Sean’s ranking: 21
Dom’s ranking: 24
Snub: Jake Sanderson
At the start of the season, Sanderson felt like a legit dark horse along the U.S. blue line. Things haven’t gone according to plan — the Sens, with a major assist from Linus Ullmark, are getting outscored in Sanderson’s minutes 21-8. At 22, though, he’s still on track to have plenty of chances.
Last week: 20
Sean’s ranking: 25
Dom’s ranking: 24
Snub: Simon Edvinsson
He may not be national-team-ready just yet, but Edvinsson is showing that he will be soon. He’s been a defensive revelation with Detroit on an elite pair with Moritz Seider. The pair has been crushing tough minutes and it’s easy to imagine Edvinsson growing into a real stud worthy of Team Sweden one day. We’re betting he’ll be seriously considered for the 2026 Olympics — he looks that good already.
Last week: 26
Sean’s ranking: 26
Dom’s ranking: 26
Snub: Clayton Keller
A tough choice, but arguably the correct one given what Team USA was going for in the bottom six. Keller is an obviously talented scorer, but there were better options for those roles with Keller’s defensive upside coming into question. It’s a testament to just how deep USA Hockey is right now that an omission as big as Keller’s isn’t that controversial.
Last week: 24
Sean’s ranking: 27
Dom’s ranking: 28
Snub: Troy Terry
To be honest, we’re just curious about how good he would look on a real team.
Last week: 27
Sean’s ranking: 29
Dom’s ranking: 27
Snub: Mathew Barzal
Barzal is another tough-luck injury case. As good as he was last season, hitting the 80-point mark for the first time since he was a rookie in 2017-18, he didn’t regain quite enough caché to make the initial roster in the midst of a long-term absence.
Last week: 31
Sean’s ranking: 28
Dom’s ranking: 29
Snub: William Eklund
Sweden decided to carry Leo Carlsson as its spare young guy. Makes sense — he’s a center and all that. Still, Eklund has 23 points in 28 games and would’ve added some offensive creativity to a group of wingers where it’s in relatively short supply.
Last week: 28
Sean’s ranking: 30
Dom’s ranking: 30
Snub: Nick Suzuki
There were a few people dunking on Habs fans for Suzuki’s omission, but he was likely right in the mix for that 4C job for Team Canada. Suzuki plays tough minutes and is strong enough defensively to feel comfortable putting him in that role. Canada has no shortage of penalty-killing forwards, too, which makes Suzuki’s low involvement there a likely non-issue. As good as Suzuki is, though, it was always going to be tough beating out Anthony Cirelli for that job. He’s a perfect shutdown center who’s having a Selke-level season for the head coach’s team. That’s tough to beat.
Last week: 32
Sean’s ranking: 31
Dom’s ranking: 31
Snub: Ryan O’Reilly
In a parallel universe, O’Reilly is crushing it in all situations and playing Selke-level hockey for a playoff-bound Predators team. He’s picked as the slam dunk 4C for Canada and everyone’s like “Yeah, that makes sense.”
We don’t live in that universe. We live here where the Predators are really bad and O’Reilly has taken a step back after a resurgent 2023-24 season.
Last week: 29
Sean’s ranking: 32
Dom’s ranking: 32
Snub: Connor Bedard
If Bedard were having a Crosby/McDavid-caliber Year 2, you can bet he’d have made the initial roster. He isn’t, so he didn’t. He gets it though, and his time is coming. Soon.
(Top photo of John Tavares: Dan Hamilton / Imagn Images)
