The NHL is becoming more and more of an international league with every year. It is already the league with the most teams located internationally, and now are ditching the traditonal All Star Game format in favor of highlighting the arry of talent with the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Nashville Predators will be well represented there.
Two players were previously announced among the slew of the leagues top stars over the summer. Filip Forsberg and Juuse Saros were both named to the rosters for their respective countries. Forsberg will be starring for Sweden, and Saros will likely be getting the nod in Finland's net.
Team Sweden- Filip Forsberg, Gustav Nyquist
The Swedish roster will be rounded out with Gustav Nyquist joining Forsberg. They two had a dynamic showing last season starring for the Predators top line, but it is unknown if that chemistry is going to be leaned on over the course of the tournament.
Now the Predators have a lot of fantastic players despite their current record and ranking near the bottom of the league. Perennial All Star and former Norris Trophy winner Roman Josi is typically a shoe in for the NHL's annual All Star game but he's Swiss. Unfortunatly Switzerland is currently ranked 7th in the IIHF and there isn't enough players to fill out a roster that would entertain the masses in a tournament.
The league also opted against fielding teams of players from Czechia and Russia despite having the numbers. Czechia is ranked 8th in the world and Russia is ranked 3rd. The United States and Canada (4th and 1st respectively) were also going to be a part of the tournament, and picking Finland (2nd) and Sweden (6th) are easy choices. Two hockey mad countries with a host of recognizable talent.
Team Finland- Juuse Saros
Some former Predators are also going to be in the mix around the tournament as well. Backing up Saros for Finland will be his old battery mate Kevin Lankinen, who is having a great season for Vancouver. Mikael Grandlund will also be suiting up for Finland. He last skated for the Predators in the 22-23 season. Erik Haula (20-21) will also hit the ice for the FIns.
For Sweden, Viktor Arvidsson will hit the ice for the Tre Kronor. After 7 years with the Predators he's bounced from the Kings to the Oilers. His Oilers teammate Mattias Ekholm was also his teammate with the Predators and will once again be donning yellow and blue, but for Sweden as he helps anchor their back end.
While the four teams are effectively all star teams, it gives national team programs a chance look at players with the NHL earmarked for competition in the 2026 Winter Olympics. The World Cup of Hockey is also coming up in 2028. The stakes are probably lower than your typical best on best tournament here and the roster construction for each country has some interesting choices.
If one Predators player has a gripe with being snubbed it might be Jonathan Marchessault. He's coming off of a very productive season, and hasn't been a slouch in the points department so far. Seth Jarvis is a very good young player, but is he better than Marchessault at this moment?
The 4 Nations Face Off will be held February 12th to 20th in both Montreal and Boston.