Predicting Canada's First Six Players for the 4 Nations Face-Off

The NHL will unveil the first six players for each 4 Nations Face-Off team on June 28. Adam Proteau predicts who those players will be for Team Canada.

The 4 Nations Face-Off is set for February, and the excitement will begin in earnest June 28.

That's when each of the participating nations – Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States – announce the first six players who will play in the tournament. 

With video assistance from Michael Traikos and Jacob Stoller from The Hockey News Wraparound Show, we’re projecting the six NHL stars who are locks to represent their country and which two other roster possibilities are likely for their respective teams. (Our picks may not be the same as the choices of Traikos and Stoller, but that’s part of the fun with this topic.)

Today, we’re starting in alphabetical order of countries, with Canada under the microscope first. Here we go:

- Connor McDavid, C, Edmonton Oilers

- Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Penguins

- Nathan MacKinnon, C, Colorado Avalanche

- Cale Makar, D, Colorado Avalanche

Canada can boast of a slew of superstars who will play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, but McDavid, Crosby, MacKinnon and Makar are all the cream of the crop, and they will be easy choices to make the cut. 

No team has better players at center, as Canada has McDavid, MacKinnon, and Crosby as clear favorites to be on the team. Makar is a perennial Norris Trophy candidate as the best blueliner on the planet, and he will get his first taste of elite international hockey in this showdown. All in all, MacKinnon, Crosby, McDavid and Makar are world-class performers, and Canada will be relying on them to impose their will in this tourney.

Canada’s defense corps will have some intriguing options, including the Kings’ Drew Doughty, the Panthers’ Brandon Montour and the Sabres’ Owen Power. But Theodore should be one of the first players named thanks to his Stanley Cup-champion experience and his general pedigree as a big-body, left-shot blueliner. 

The 28-year-old Theodre has lots of international hockey experience, including gold medals at the World Men's Under-18 Championship and the World Junior Championship. He’s currently at his peak, and there’s no way Canada is leaving him off the roster.

Bruins GM Don Sweeney is the GM for Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off team, and he likes a lineup with some bite and snot to it. It would be shocking if he snubbed Marchand – and it would not be great for his relationship with Marchand before and after the tournament. 

Marchand is up there in age at 36 years old, but his dogged determination to win is what Canada needs, and Sweeney trusts Marchand not to let his aggression hurt the team. 

Marchand was part of Canada’s gold-medal team at the 2014 World Cup of Hockey, and he should be an integral part of the team at the 4 Nations Face-Off. 

Here's who Michael and Jacob discussed:

Who do you think should make the team? Let us know at our forum by commenting below.

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