WA-NYR-TradeRumours Russia is one notable country left out of the 4 Nations Face-Off. Given all of the talented NHL players that come out of Russia including the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Igor Shesterkin and Artemi Panarin, it’s clear that Russia would have provided a lot of excitement for this tournament. Due to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, they were excluded from the 4 Nations Face-Off among other international sporting events. Russian hockey players are not involved in this war though as Panarin expressed his desire to represent his country again and play in the 4 Nations Face-Off. “It’s pretty sad, cause you always want to play international tournaments and represent your country,” Panarin said, via Larry Brooks of The New York Post. [https://nypost.com/2025/02/12/sports/one-issue-casting-big-shadow-over-of-4-nations-event/] “It’s just sad, but we can’t do anything. One thing I know is that most of the players probably want us to be able to play in these events. I know players are not against that.” It would be nice to see Russian hockey players included in a best-on-best tournament since many of the top hockey players are from Russia. Panarin’s sadness is perfectly reasonable, and hopefully, we’ll be able to see him play in some sort of international tournament in the near future.
