Sharks Players React To 4 Nations Face-Off
NHL teams returned to practice on Tuesday, and the talk of the San Jose Sharks locker room revolved around the 4 Nations Face-Off.
Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images - Sharks Players React To 4 Nations Face-OffNHL teams returned to practice on Tuesday, and the talk of the San Jose Sharks locker room revolved around the 4 Nations Face-Off.
The tourney has generated a lot of discussion on social media throughout the sporting world and brought hockey's best-on-best to a scale not seen in a long time.
"{I watched Canada v. USA on Saturday with Luke Kunin when we were out in Hawaii. So that was fun," Tyler Toffoli said. "It was cool to see. They're actually a bunch of Canadians in the same area or the same restaurant bar that we were at, so it was obviously pretty electric to start. That's what everybody's talking about. I'm really looking forward to the game coming up on Thursday."
Toffoli is Canadian, and Kunin is American. When asked if they had a friendly wager, Toffoli said, "We aren't allowed to bet on games."
The winger later revealed that Kunin made that joke first.
Kunin told THN that he expects Thursday's championship game to be low-scoring and that Team USA would win 2-1.
Another theme between the Sharks' roster was how well this tournament showcased the game. Best-on-best is returning regularly with the 2026 Olympics and the NHL announcing a World Cup of Hockey in 2028.
"[The games were] awesome. It's some of the best hockey ever," Macklin Celebrini said. "The speed, pace, and the skill that those players are playing with, it's fun to watch."
"We all play hockey because it's fun. We want to show everyone, like every fan in the world. We just want it to be bigger and bigger," Zetterlund said. "We have a lot of fun out there, too, and that's what's most important."
Despite Sweden losing two overtime games and winning once in regulation, Fabian Zetterlund was proud of his home nation.
Former Sharks forward Mikael Granlund scored an overtime goal for Finland against Sweden.
"Yeah, I gave him a little bit [of crap]. I don't want to talk to him anymore," Zetterlund joked.
Will Smith, a Boston native, told reporters that his father had attended the two games at TD Garden and will also be at Thursday's game.
"It's awesome. The more press this gets, [it adds] viewers on TV and everything," Smith said. "I think people are starting to realize how great of a game hockey is.
Team USA and Team Canada will play on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ESPN for the championship of the Four Nations Face-Off.
The USA defeated Canada 3-1 in the round-robin portion last Saturday.
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