4 Nations Face-Off roster predictions: Who makes the final cut?

Rosters for February's 4 Nations Face-Off are due Monday and will be announced Wednesday - Sweden and Finland at 2 p.m. ET, Canada and USA at 6:30 p.m.

Below, we unveil our final roster predictions for each country. (Bolded players were previously named to the team in June.)

Canada 🇨🇦

Toughest omissions: Zach Hyman, Alexis Lafreniere

Canada's forward group is the strength of its roster, featuring arguably the two best players in the world in McDavid and MacKinnon, plus one of the best ever in Crosby, the presumed captain who still plays at a very high level.

Reinhart's two-way savviness and finishing ability make him the ideal linemate for McDavid. At one point, it seemed like Hyman had the other McDavid flank spot sewn up, but a recent injury and lackluster production could give GM Don Sweeney and Co. some pause. Verhaeghe isn't necessarily having his best year, but the two-time Stanley Cup winner is an effective forechecker and proven big-game player. He gets the nod on LW1 in part because of his familiarity with Reinhart, which could pay dividends in a short tournament.

The second line could also have some built-in chemistry with the trio of Nova Scotia natives who all train together in the offseason. MacKinnon even said previously that he'd happily move to the wing to play with Crosby.

Cirelli and Hagel are both enjoying career years. They became relatively easy picks thanks to their speed, tenacity, and the trust they've built with Lightning and Canada coach Jon Cooper.

We considered Connor Bedard for the 13th forward role, but Scheifele's vastly outplaying him and is more deserving of the last spot.

Toughest omissions: Owen Power, Colton Parayko

Three picks were straightforward. Toews slots in perfectly alongside Makar, while Morrissey and Dobson are two well-rounded players in their primes. It helps to have lefty-righty harmony on the first and second pairs.

Doughty would be another obvious pick if not for an ankle injury. Out all season, he's projected to return to NHL action before the tournament. We're betting that, despite the uncertainty, Canada's management group will gladly select Doughty, believing the veteran has runway to round into form.

We strongly considered Parayko for the third pair but feel Pietrangelo is capable of providing Parayko-like value (physicality, penalty killing, leadership) and contributing in other ways. Pietrangelo's the more complete blue-liner.

Theodore barely got the nod over Power. We like his assertive playing style. But don't be surprised if Power makes Canada's 2026 Olympic team.

Toughest omission: Cam Talbot

Goaltending remains Canada's clear weakness. Cup winners Binnington and Hill are enduring rough seasons, but both appear poised to make the team based on a recent TSN report.

That leaves one spot up for grabs between Thompson and Talbot, who have been by far Canada's best goalies in 2024-25. Both are deserving, but we opted to go with Thompson, who's emerging as Washington's No. 1 goalie with a .917 save percentage and is a decade younger than Talbot.

United States 🇺🇸

Toughest omissions: Chris Kreider, J.T. Miller

The only reason Miller isn't on our mock roster is because he's on an indefinite leave of absence from the Canucks. We don't know his return timeline, and we're guessing Team USA brass doesn't, either.

Kreider, another virtual lock coming into the season, is playing his way off the 4 Nations squad. The 33-year-old winger has recorded only nine points (all goals) in 19 games for the Rangers. His ice time's down this year, while the trade noise around him increased over the past week or so.

We tapped highly competitive and versatile center Trocheck and creative playmaker Keller as their replacements. Trocheck gives the Americans another right-handed option. Keller, penciled in as the 13th forward, has enough offensive juice to revive any line combination that may be struggling.

Not that we're predicting struggles for this group. Coach Mike Sullivan has a wide variety of forwards at his disposal, from game-breaking superstars like Matthews, Hughes, and Eichel, to more nuanced players like the Tkachuk brothers, Guentzel, and Robertson. Boldy, a noteworthy riser this season, is an all-around talent and one of the NHL's finest young power forwards.

Toughest omission: John Carlson

The Americans boast arguably the tournament's best blue line. There's a strong mix of righties, lefties, offensive defensemen, and shutdown blue-liners who should complement each other in a productive way.

While the top two pairings are pretty much set in stone, the third isn't. Faber's built off his Calder Trophy runner-up season by establishing himself as one of the NHL's premier defensive defensemen in his sophomore campaign. With Wild executive Bill Guerin serving as USA's GM, you can bet Faber will be there.

Werenski and Sanderson are somewhat interchangeable. We gave Werenski the nod as the experienced guy, but Sanderson's probably better defensively.

It was difficult leaving off Carlson amid a resurgent season, but it may come down to USA wanting a lefty as the seventh defenseman since Faber's spot on the third pair seems to be far more secure.

Toughest omission: Anthony Stolarz

The Americans have high-end talent and depth in net.

Hellebuyck is trending toward a second consecutive Vezina Trophy; he's the No. 1 goalie at this point, no questions asked. Oettinger's start has him sniffing around the Vezina conversation, making him the top backup option.

Picking a third-stringer is trickier, with Stolarz currently shining and Swayman struggling following drawn-out contract negotiations. We decided to stick with Swayman, the netminder with the more robust resume and higher ceiling. Management's likely considering the real possibility of Stolarz hitting a wall and Swayman looking like his old self by the time the tournament rolls around.

Sweden 🇸🇪

Toughest omissions: Viktor Arvidsson, Hampus Lindholm, Adam Larsson

Team Sweden's backbone is its blue line, which is on par with Canada's and maybe just a notch below USA's. The only issue? A lot of lefties. Dahlin regularly plays his off side, so that's no problem. But someone else will have to do the same in order to get Sweden's six best in the lineup. In this case, we opted to go with Brodin, who forms the ultimate shutdown pair with Forsling.

The toughest cut is unsurprisingly a defenseman in Lindholm. We chose Andersson as the seventh guy - a right-handed option in case having a lefty play his off side doesn't work out. Andersson's excellent season helps, too.

Sweden has enough overall talent to be a dark horse in this tournament if it can get strong goaltending from Markstrom or the red-hot Gustavsson.

Finland 🇫🇮

Toughest omissions: Matias Maccelli, Eeli Tolvanen, Jani Hakanpaa

Only about 40 Finns have appeared in an NHL game this season. Such a limited pool makes the task of filling out an international roster easy.

Barkov, Aho, and Hintz combine for an intriguing 1-2-3 punch down the middle. Rantanen and Heiskanen are elite. The rest of the skater group is questionable, though - particularly the blue line. You can compete in a star-studded tournament with a Lindell-Heiskanen top pair, but Finland's 3-7 depth on defense is significantly worse than the three other countries.

Saros, the projected starter, is going to face a ton of rubber at this tourney.

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