@emma_lingan and @PatrickCPresent on X Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin has been selected to Team USA's 4 Nations Face-Off roster, joining teammate and long-time friend Jack Eichel. The 4 Nations Face-Off will be a round-robin tournament featuring teams comprised of NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden, and the United States. The event will take place in Boston and Montreal from Feb. 12-20. Hanifin has represented Team USA at the U-17s, U-18s, World Juniors, and the World Championship, winning gold at the U-18s in 2014. He also played for the USNTDP before going to the NCAA. The 27-year-old joined the Golden Knights last year at the trade deadline and signed an eight-year extension with the team. He's become a vital part of the Golden Knights defence core and is averaging the third most time on ice on the team. His inclusion in Team USA will be as a stabilizer on the back end. With a roster filled with young offensive-minded blue-liners, Hanifin can be the defenseman to break up plays against Canada, Sweden and Finland's best offensive players. Eichel was already named to the team back when each nation named its first six players. Eichel will form a formidable duo as the top two centres on the team with Toronto Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews. "I'm super excited. It's gonna be a great event," said Eichel. "Super unique format with such a short tournament. But you know what, like the World Cup, it was sort of like that, too. We had three or four exhibition games and then we played three or four tournament games and then it was over. So it felt like it was so quick. This is gonna be pretty quick as well, no exhibition games, and all of a sudden we're just right into it. It's gonna be great, though. Whenever you have an opportunity to represent your country, I take a ton of pride in that." USA are the favourites in the eyes of many and a lot of pressure will be placed on Eichel to perform. Make sure you bookmark THN's Vegas Golden Knights site [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/vegas-golden-knights/] for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.
