4 Nations Face-Off: Three Final Roster Projections For Team USA

Team USA has incredible depth for the 4 Nations Face-Off, no matter who they choose. Ryan Kennedy, Michael Traikos and Adam Proteau create their best versions of the squad.

The NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off is almost here, and it's high time to get brought up to speed in time for the full roster announcements on Dec. 4.

As the days count down toward those roster announcements, we're projecting who each team will choose. We asked senior digital correspondent Adam Proteau, editor in chief Ryan Kennedy and managing editor of digital media Michael Traikos each to make their projections. Although the teams have many similarities, things get especially interesting when they get into the depth positions.

As with each of the four 4 Nations teams, the Americans' first six picks were already made. They are:

F: Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F: Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights)
F: Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers)
D: Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D: Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks)
D: Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins)

There were more than a few consensus picks for Team USA on top of those six locks. 

In net, two-time Vezina Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck and Dallas’ Jake Oettinger were easy picks. The same goes for defensemen Jaccob Slavin, Zach Werenski and Brock Faber, as well as forwards Jake Guentzel, Alex Tuch, Brady Tkachuk, Kyle Connor, J.T. Miller and Matt Boldy.

The common denominator among these players is their overall smartness and vision for the game. They're positionally sound and prepared to play good defense in no small part, thanks to keeping puck possession in their favor. 

The Tkachuk Bros. are also there to add a physical element that challenges opponents to match or better it. Not every American player has that physical edge to their game, but U.S. players will get notable time and space in no small part because of the Tkachuks’ impact on the ice.

We kicked off the projections process with a look at Team Canada, and today, we’re examining Team USA.

(Don't see the list? Click here.)

Team America should be the favorite to win the 4 Nations Face-Off because they’ve got astonishing depth at every key position. 

In net, you can’t go wrong with consensus picks Oettinger and Hellebuyck. Even though Demko has yet to play this season, he may wind up being healthy for the tournament, and his natural ability to stop pucks hasn’t been lost when he was sidelined. In any case, though, this area may be the United States’ biggest strength.

Like with Canada, this team-building philosophy focuses on speed, overall depth and first-rate puck possession. 

With all-star candidates Fox, Quinn Hughes, McAvoy, and Slavin making up the top four defensemen, Team USA is physical and crafty, and it can get the best of its opponents by playing a patient, smart game. And with slick Werenski partnering with emerging superstar Faber on the third pairing, the American defense corps is a double-edged sword with longtime star Carlson in an insurance position.

Up front, Matthews, Jack Hughes, Thompson and Eichel serve as the pivots. One change from the 2023 projection is adding Wild left winger Boldy, who has 12 assists and 23 points in 22 games this season. The 23-year-old will serve on the fourth line, which speaks to the incredible depth of this American team.

The Americans have skill and speed to spare, and on paper, at least, they’re the most well-balanced, stacked squad of any 4 Nations Face-Off team. The days of Team Canada winning every best-on-best tournament are long over, and you heard it here first – this Team USA will underscore that fact by winning this high-profile, high-stakes tournament. - Adam Proteau

(Don't see the list? Click here.)

The defense corps was very difficult to pare down for the U.S., especially since Werenski is having such an incredible season with the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

With Fox, Hughes and McAvoy already locked in, that meant only four spots available for a nation that has produced a lot of fantastic blueliners in recent years. 

Slavin and Faber were obvious choices thanks to the defensive prowess they bring to the back end, while Carlson, like Werenski, is having an excellent NHL campaign. 

There's plenty of international experience throughout the defense corps as well, seeing as many of the members played with USA Hockey's National Team Development Program.

This group is firing on all cylinders and has elite mobility throughout the lineup, not to mention some physicality (McAvoy in particular), just to keep the opponents honest. Noah Hanifin and/or K'Andre Miller easily could have made the roster as well, but cuts were necessary. - Ryan Kennedy

(Don't see the list? Click here.)

The Americans’ strength obviously resides in net, where Hellebuyck should be the No. 1 goalie with very capable backups in Jake Oettinger and Jeremy Swayman. But from top to bottom, this might be the deepest Team USA we’ve ever seen in an international competition. It’s also one of the youngest, with five players aged 23 or younger.

This is a new generation of Americans. None of these players wore red, white and blue at the last World Cup or Olympics, where Team USA's biggest failure was a lack of a natural center. That’s not a problem anymore.

In Matthews, Eichel and Miller, you’ve finally got a one-two-three punch down the middle that can rival Canada’s centers. 

It doesn’t end there. Dylan Larkin, who has 12 goals with the Red Wings, gets the nod over Tage Thompson because of the Detroit captain's speed and tenacity at both ends of the ice. 

Caufield will be tough to leave off with how many goals he has scored this year. The same goes for Boldy, whose GM in Minnesota is picking the roster. Meanwhile, a slow start to the season shouldn't keep two-time 40-goal scorer Jason Robertson off the team.

And don’t sleep on the defense, where the Americans have two Norris Trophy winners (Fox and Quinn Hughes), a shutdown specialist (Slavin) and two youngsters (Faber and Sanderson) who are logging nearly 25 minutes a night. Leaving Carlson off the roster could be a difficult decision, but Werenski is among the league leaders in goals and points — and he’s also seven years younger than Carlson. - Michael Traikos

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