Who are some players on the Wild who could compete in the 4 Nations Face-Off?
The NHL announced earlier this week some details for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off which will take place in February.
It got us thinking how many players on the Wild could compete in the tournament?
Team USA
Wild President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Bill Guerin is the current GM for Team USA. Wild head coach John Hynes is also on USA's staff as their assistant coach.
Both Matt Boldy and Brock Faber could be options for USA. I would say Faber has a higher chance at making the team over Boldy but with the way Boldy played for USA during the Men's World Championships, he should be considered to make the team. It will likely depend how he does during the regular season.
Possible defensemen for USA include Quinn Hughes, Charlie McAvoy, Adam Fox, Jaccob Slavin, Ryan Lindgren, Jacob Trouba, Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, and Luke Hughes. USA can carry seven defenders for the tournament so Faber should be included in that group.
Considering Faber's history of playing at the National level with USA and his defensive game he plays, he should be a lock to make the team. You can't really construct a whole back-end of just offensive defensemen. Which is why I threw Lindgren on the list as well.
In terms of the forward group, USA is stacked. Guys like J.T. Miller, who scored 37 goals and 103 points last season, could be in the bottom-six for USA.
If Boldy is going to make the team it will be in a top-nine role. He isn't the type of player who can play a fourth line type of role, unless your fourth line is a scoring line.
It will likely depend on how Boldy plays during the regular season but he should be someone Guerin and his staff on USA, consider.
Team Sweden
The Wild had five players on Team Sweden for the 2024 IIHF Men's World Championships in May. Not all five will be on the team for the 4 Nations Face-Off but three of them could.
Filip Gustavsson, Jesper Wallstedt, Marcus Johansson, Joel Eriksson Ek, and Jonas Brodin all made Sweden for the World Championships. Gustavsson was one of the best goalies in the tournament and both Eriksson Ek and Johansson finished the tournament as two of the three top players for Sweden.
Johansson played really well in the tournament but he will likely be left off the roster for the 4 Nations tournament. That being said, Eriksson Ek and Brodin should be included. Eriksson Ek seems like a lock and so should Brodin but there are a lot of good Swedish defenders.
Guys like Victor Hedman, Rasmus Dahlin, Erik Karlsson, Hampus Lindholm, Mattias Ekholm, Rasmus Andersson and Adam Larsson will be in consideration to make the team. Should Brodin be in that conversation?
Jacob Marksrom and Linus Ullmark will be the two locks for Sweden in terms of goaltender. Gustavsson could be their third goalie though.
Team Finland
The Wild won't have any players on Team Finland but they will likely have a few former Wild players on the roster.
It isn't guaranteed but Erik Haula and Mikael Granlund could be two former Wild forwards that could make the team.
Team Canada
Like Finland, the Wild will not have any players from their team on the roster. They also will not have any former players on the team.
As of now, the only players on the Wild's roster from Canada are Freddy Gaudreau, Declan Chisholm, Jake Middleton, Jake Lucchini, Mason Shaw, Jared Spurgeon, and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Canada will have to choose between Adin Hill, Stuart Skinner, Jordan Binnington, Connor Ingram, Tristan Jarry, Logan Thompson, and Devon Levi as potential options for the team.
You could add Fleury to that list but it doesn't seem likely unless he is in a back-up type of role.
The only real option for a Wild player to make Team Canada would be Spurgeon. The Wild's captain will be in the conversation among many other solid defensemen. Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Josh Morrissey, Evan Bouchard, Noah Dobson, Morgan Rielly, Vince Dunn, Colton Parayko, and Drew Doughty are some options for Canada.
Spurgeon should be in that mix as well.
Who do you think should make the four teams? How many Wild players should make it? Tell us here.
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