Predicting Finland's First Six Players for the 4 Nations Face-Off
The first six players for Team Finland in the 4 Nations Face-Off will be announced later in June, but there's no doubt who should be among the squad's locks.
The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place in February 2025, but there’s already fun speculation as to which players will be named as participants in the tournament.
The excitement will ramp up on June 28, when each of the four teams – Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States – announce which first six players they’ve confirmed as taking part in the showdown.
With video assistance from Michael Traikos and Jacob Stoller, we’re projecting the six NHL stars that are locks to represent their country and adding two additional likely roster possibilities for their respective teams. (This writer’s picks may not be the same as the choices of Traikos and Stoller, but debate and discussion is the main point of this piece.)
We started in alphabetical order of countries, with Canada under the microscope first. Today, we move on to Finland.
Finland's Locks
- Aleksander Barkov, C, Florida Panthers
- Miro Heiskanen, D, Dallas Stars
- Juuse Saros, G, Nashville Predators
- Mikko Rantanen, RW, Colorado Avalanche
In our projections for a best-on-best-type tournament, we included a slew of NHL players who will make Finland’s roster. But the four easy choices for the Finns are quite apparent – beginning with Panthers star center Barkov, who is currently showing why he might just be the best two-way forward in the entire NHL.
Stars perennial Norris Trophy candidate Heiskanen and veteran Preds goaltender Saros are guaranteed to be on Finland’s roster, and Avalanche right winger Rantanen will undoubtedly be on it as well. At the top end of the talent scale, Finland has got some accomplished performers and experienced hands to rely on.
Finland's Remaining Two Possibilities
Sebastian Aho, C, Carolina Hurricanes
Who’s kidding who – Aho is assured of a roster spot for Finland.
The 26-year-old doesn’t have a ton of championship experience at the international elite hockey level, but he does have a World Junior Championship gold medal to his credit, and he’s scored at least 36 goals in each of the past three NHL seasons.
Aho will be Finland’s second-line center behind Barkov, and Aho’s speed and finishing skills will be major assets for the team.
There’s no question whether he’ll be on the roster. Finland’s 4 Nations Face-Off management team will choose him in its top six, and Aho will be part of his country’s teams in every best-on-best tournament in the short-term and long-term future.
Roope Hintz, C, Dallas Stars
Hintz might be one of the first four Finnish players named to the 4 Nations Face-Off roster, as he has emerged as one of its very best players in recent years.
The 27-year-old Hintz has generated 104 goals and 212 points for Dallas in the past three NHL seasons, and he’s been a big reason why the Stars have had long playoff runs of late.
Hintz will be playing behind Barkov and Aho, but he’ll be prominent in whatever plans Finland’s management has for the 4 Nations Face-Off, and he’s only just entering his prime.
The Finns will be a tournament underdog, but if they do overachieve and wind up legitimately vying for a championship, Hintz will have stepped up and delivered as advertised.
Here's who Michael and Jacob discussed:
Who do you think should make the team? Comment below to take part in our forum.
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