Tag: hockey

Full 4 Nations Face-Off rosters for Team USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland

The official rosters for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off have been revealed!

Fans will have to wait a bit longer to see the winner of the first 4 Nations Face-Off in February, but on Wednesday, the full rosters for the tournament were officially unveiled.

In place of the NHL’s hit-or-miss All-Star Weekend, the league and the NHLPA have teamed up to put on the 4 Nations Face-Off in February 2025. The round robin tournament will include NHL players from four countries — the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland — and will be played in both Boston and Montreal across the seven-game slate.

It’s all very reminiscent of the NHL’s attempt to make the World Cup of Hockey happen back in 2016, so we’ll have to see how fans take to this version of a best-on-best international tournament. However, considering the amount of talent on these rosters — featuring the likes of Sidney Crosby, Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid —  we should be in for a treat.

Here’s the full set of rosters for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off!

United States 4 Nations Face-Off roster

Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
  • F Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • F Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • F Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers)
  • F Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators)
  • F Matt Boldy (Minnesota Wild)
  • F Kyle Connor (Winnipeg Jets)
  • F Jake Guentzel (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • F Jack Hughes (New Jersey Devils)
  • F J.T. Miller (Vancouver Canucks)
  • F Chris Kreider (New York Rangers)
  • F Dylan Larkin (Detroit Red Wings)
  • F Brock Nelson (New York Islanders)
  • F Vincent Trocheck (New York Rangers)
  • D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
  • D Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks)
  • D Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins)
  • D Brock Faber (Minnesota Wild)
  • D Jaccob Slavin (Carolina Hurricanes)
  • D Zach Werenski (Columbus Blue Jackets)
  • D Noah Hanifin (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • G Connor Hellebuyck (Winnipeg Jets)
  • G Jake Oettinger (Dallas Stars)
  • G Jeremy Swayman (Boston Bruins)

Canada 4 Nations Face-Off roster

Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports
  • F Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguns)
  • F Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
  • F Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche)
  • F Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins)
  • F Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • F Seth Jarvis (Carolina Hurricanes)
  • F Brandon Hagel (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • F Sam Reinhart (Florida Panthers)
  • F Sam Bennett (Florida Panthers)
  • F Mitch Marner (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • F Mark Stone (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • F Anthony Cirelli (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • F Travis Konecny (Philadelphia Flyers)
  • D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)
  • D Devon Toews (Colorado Avalanche)
  • D Shea Theodore (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • D Alex Pietrangelo (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • D Josh Morrissey (Winnipeg Jets)
  • D Colton Parayko (St. Louis Blues)
  • D Travis Sanheim (Philadelphia Flyers)
  • G Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues)
  • G Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • G Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens)

Sweden 4 Nations Face-Off roster

Andre Ringuette/Getty Images
  • F Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators)
  • F William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • F Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers)
  • F William Karlsson (Vegas Golden Knights)
  • F Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils)
  • F Leo Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks)
  • F Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota Wild)
  • F Adrian Kempe (Los Angeles Kings)
  • F Elias Lindholm (Boston Bruins)
  • F Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks)
  • F Gustav Nyquist (Nashville Predators)
  • F Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings)
  • F Viktor Arvidsson (Edmonton Oilers)
  • D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
  • D Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
  • D Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers)
  • D Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames)
  • D Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres)
  • D Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton Oilers)
  • D Jonas Brodin (Minnesota Wild)
  • G Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild)
  • G Jacob Markstrom (New Jersey Devils)
  • G Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)

Finland 4 Nations Face-Off roster

Brett Carlsen/Getty Images
  • F Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers)
  • F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)
  • F Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche)
  • F Roope Hintz (Dallas Stars)
  • F Joel Armia (Montreal Canadiens)
  • F Mikael Granlund (San Jose Sharks)
  • F Erik Haula (New Jersey Devils)
  • F Kaapo Kakko (New York Rangers)
  • F Artturi Lehkonen (Colorado Avalanche)
  • F Anton Lundell (Florida Panthers)
  • F Patrik Laine (Montreal Canadiens)
  • F Eetu Luostarinen (Florida Panthers)
  • F Teuvo Teravainen (Chicago Blackhawks)
  • D Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars)
  • D Esa Lindell (Dallas Stars)
  • D Jani Hakanpää (Toronto Maple Leafs)
  • D Niko Mikkola (Florida Panthers)
  • D Olli Maatta (Utah Hockey Club)
  • D Rasmus Ristolainen (Philadelphia Flyers)
  • D Juuso Valimaki (Utah Hockey Club)
  • G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
  • G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Buffalo Sabres)
  • G Kevin Lankinen (Vancouver Canucks)

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Welcome to The Rink, the hockey-themed party hole at the LPGA’s CPKC Women’s Open

They turned the par-3 17th hole into The Rink, a hockey-themed party hole where fans sit in the Penalty Box.

Hockey season may be over, but that doesn’t mean that even at a golf tournament Canadians aren’t going to be thinking about their national pasttime.

That includes this week’s LPGA stop north of the border in Calgary, Alberta, home of the Earl Grey Golf Club and the 2024 CPKC Women’s Open, Canada’s national championship.

For the tournament, organizers turned the par-3 17th into The Rink, the hockey-themed party hole and fans who upgrade their tickets can sit near the tee box in the “Penalty Box.”

The marshals are dressed up like referees, the tee box markers are mini goalie helmets and everyone up and down both sides of the hole bangs on the boards after the players tees off.

“It’s very cool. It’s very loud and a lot of energy there. Makes it really fun for us players, and I think the fans enjoy it as well,” said Canadian Brooke Henderson, who is drawing the biggest galleries this week at Earl Grey.

Fellow Canadian Alena Sharp, a Toronto Maple Leafs fan, admitted she’d don a Calgary Flames sweater on the hole on Sunday.

“I don’t want to get booed.”

Former Wisconsin center has a chance at history in NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 7

Former Wisconsin center has a chance at history in NHL Stanley Cup Final Game 7

Former Wisconsin Badgers and current Edmonton Oilers center Dylan Holloway has a chance at history on Monday night in game seven of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

He and the Oilers forced a deciding game seven of the series against the Florida Panthers after falling into a 3-0 series deficit. Holloway and the Oilers are only the first team since the 1944-45 Detroit Red Wings to do so in the Stanley Cup Final. With a win on Monday night, they would be the first to win the series under such circumstances since the Toronto Maple Leafs did it just 82 years ago in 1942.

For further context, NHL teams are 206-4 after building a 3-0 series lead like the Panthers did in this series. The Oilers have the chance to make that record 206-5.

Holloway played for Wisconsin from 2019-2021, totaling 19 goals and 33 assists for 52 total points during that two-year span.

He was selected with the 14th overall pick by the Oilers in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft before returning to college for the 2020-21 season. The talented center then officially signed with the Oilers in April of 2021.

Holloway’s NHL career thus far has included 89 games played, nine goals and nine assists. He has added five goals and two assists in the Oilers’ run to the cup final.

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion.

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Jack Nicklaus attends Stanley Cup Final, bangs drum before Game 5 in Florida

Jack Nicklaus is a busy man.

Jack Nicklaus is a busy man.

Two weeks ago, he was all over Muirfield Village Golf Club hosting his Memorial Tournament for the PGA Tour. And on Tuesday night, he had a big responsibility before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Sunrise, Florida.

Nicklaus was in attendance for the matchup between the Florida Panthers and Edmonton Oilers, and he had the honor of banging the drum to fire up the crowd before the potential series-clinching game.

Sporting a Panthers’ sweater with the No. 18 on it for his number of major titles, Nicklaus helped bring the crowd to its feet before the puck dropped in Game 5.

Ultimately, the visiting Oilers won 5-3 to extend the series and send it back to Canada for Game 6.

Perhaps the Panthers needed some of Nicklaus’ ability in the clutch to close out the series.

Ouch: Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch sends shot at Bills ahead of Stanley Cup Final

Ouch! Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch takes shot at Bills ahead of Stanley Cup Final

Well, that was uncalled for, Kris.

The Edmonton Oilers and Florida Panthers will do battle in the upcoming NHL Stanley Cup Final. Ahead of the series, Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch was asked about championship experience … or lack thereof for his team.

In answering how important having that is, he mentioned the Buffalo Bills. And not in the nicest of ways.

Knoblauch, referring to the four straight Super Bowls the Bills lost in the early ’90s, used the football team as an example of why experience might not matter all that much.

Knoblauch’s comment can be found in the Sportsnet clip below:

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A Canadian Hockey League fight was filmed by a camera person on the ice and the result is so cool

Now this is cinema!

Hockey fights have never looked as cinematic as this one captured in the Canadian Hockey League.

On Monday, during the round robin stage of the 2024 Memorial Cup between the London Knights and Moose Jaw Warriors, a fight broke out at the end of the second period. When Moose Jaw defenseman Kalem Parker and London forward Max McCue dropped the gloves, fans watching at home got a unique look at the fight, as a hand-held camera was skated around the two players as punches flew.

Yes, a TSN cameraman jumped out onto the ice to capture the fight at ice level, giving fans a rare look at the action from a front seat.

Pretty cool! The camera angle definitely makes this feel super cinematic compared to the usual high angle most fights are captured at.

And hilariously, behind the scenes footage revealed that the TSN cameraman was wearing all white to try to blend in with the ice!

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Watch: New Commanders TE Ben Sinnott was a standout hockey player

Washington fans are going to love TE Ben Sinnott.

Most tight ends in today’s NFL are known more for their ability to impact the passing game. Travis Kelce is a future Hall of Famer, but he isn’t known for his blocking.

George Kittle is the NFL’s most complete tight end because he is an excellent receiver and blocker.

The Washington Commanders entered the 2024 NFL draft knowing they needed a tight end. General manager Adam Peters, who came from San Francisco, played a role in drafting Kittle. Could Peters find his next Kittle?

With the No. 53 overall pick, the Commanders selected Kansas State tight end Ben Sinnott. On the NFL Network’s draft telecast, Daniel Jeremiah said Sinnott was a combination of Kittle and standout fullback Kyle Juszczyk. In his Day 2 wrapup with the media, Peters used those same comparisons.

Sinnott can block, run and catch. When watching him play, it’s no surprise he is a former hockey player. Check this out:

Sinnott began playing hockey at three and played until high school, where he led his team in points and penalty minutes. That explains a lot when you watch him on the football field.

Washington fans are going to love Sinnott.

 

Chiefs wish Kansas City Mavericks good luck in the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs

The #Chiefs wished the Kansas City Mavericks good luck in the ECHL’s Kelly Cup Playoffs in a social media post on Thursday.

The Kansas City Chiefs may not be the only team to bring the City of Fountains a title in 2024.

On Thursday, the Chiefs wished the Kansas City Mavericks good luck in the ECHL Kelly Cup playoffs as they look to bring the city yet another championship to celebrate.

The Mavericks, who finished with an impressive 54 wins over the course of their 72-game season, have already won the 2024 Brabham Cup. They also set the ECHL record for most road wins at 29, and set their franchise record for most goals with 305 on the season.

Set to face the Tulsa Oilers tonight, the Mavericks are a No. 1 seed in the ECHL playoffs and may prove to have the mettle to compete for the league’s ultimate prize, the Kelly Cup.

Whether they win the ECHL championship or not, though, the Mavericks have had an incredible season, and have caught the attention of the defending Super Bowl champions, which is an honor all its own.

Notre Dame hockey closes 2023 with OT win

Nice way to end the (calendar) year

Before the clock struck midnight last night, Notre Dame hockey closed the 2023 portion of their season with an overtime victory over Augustana.

Michael Mastrodomenico’s first goal of the season tied things up in the first period after an early Augustana goal.  Paul Fisher then scored a little before the midway point of the second period to give Notre Dame a 2-1 lead.

However, Owen Bohn scored to tie things back up 2-2 before the second period ended and that’s how the score remained all the way through the third.

Cole Knuble however took care of business right away in overtime, finding the back of the net and propelling the Irish to a 3-2 victory.

Notre Dame will return to action Friday, January 5 as they play host to Wisconsin at 7 p.m. ET.

What happened when the guys from Good Good took on some minor-league hockey players?

The guys from Good Good challenged six Coachella Valley Firebirds players to a round.

It wasn’t until the 1996 Adam Sandler movie “Happy Gilmore” that most saw hockey and golf somehow intertwined. It happened again this past week, when the guys from the popular golf YouTube channel Good Good challenged six Coachella Valley Firebirds players to a round in the Coachella Valley.

The video of the round, posted on Wednesday, had more than 114,000 views within the first 11 hours and has now eclipsed more than 294,000 views.

The six Good Good golfers, who have more than 1.4 million followers, played against Firebirds’ Andrew Poturalski, Kole Lind, Shane Wright, Logan Morrison, Luke Henman and Jacob Melanson on one evening at The Lights at Indio Golf Course — the only night-lit course among more than 120 in the valley.

The Firebirds narrowly won the round, by a stroke, which was filmed in early November, with Henman sinking a putt on a playoff hole. The Firebirds had trailed by two strokes late in the round before forging a comeback.

“I’ve been watching their videos from the start,” Henman told The Desert Sun over the phone, “so it was cool to meet them, and the fact that I got to play against them was also really cool.”

The round came together because Garrett Clark, co-founder of Good Good Golf, and Shane Wright follow each other on social media. Clark initiated the invite, Henman said, and Wright helped organize it from the Firebirds’ end.

Many of the Firebirds players are avid golfers who are known to play together during their downtime between games. Poturalski and team captain Max McCormick have joked on social media about taking money from each other on the golf course, and rookie Ryan Winterton has said that hockey, family and golf are his three favorite things.

Golfweek’s Best: Top public and private courses in California

The team played a Christmas Eve round together at Stone Eagle Golf Club in Palm Desert last year, with Poturalski saying that it’s becoming an annual tradition.

For the round against the Good Good guys, Henman said that the six Firebirds were not necessarily the best golfers on the team but instead the avid golfers who also closely follow the Good Good guys on YouTube.

“We have a lot of good golfers on our team,” said Henman, a Nova Scotia native who has played golf for 10 years. “But we wanted the guys who knew of the Good Good guys and watched their videos to play the round.”

The segment on the Good Good channel, which is about 40 minutes long, was the first time the public has had a chance to see Firebirds players swing a club. There were a few of the highlights:

Melanson has an absurd swing

Melanson, a 20-year-old rookie from Nova Scotia, might have the best (or at least most powerful) swing on the team. Though it was just a glimpse of one round and just six players, not the entire team, Melanson’s swing impressed even the Good Good guys.

“Dude, you’ve got a swing in you, man!” one of the guys was heard saying after one of Melanson’s drives. The forward, who has scored a pair of goals this season and engaged in one of the Firebirds’ biggest fights of the year on the ice, spend the entire round drilling the ball down the fairway, straight almost every time, with one Good Good guy even suggesting he enter a long-ball competition.

How is Wright still a teenager? Really?

You cannot be around Wright for long before you want to see a copy of his birth certificate. What I mean is, it’s so difficult to believe he’s still just a teenager. Well, he will be for at least a few more days. That surreal reality was reinforced during this round of golf.

It’s one thing to watch Wright, who was the fourth overall selection in the 2022 NHL Draft, on the ice and witness his enormous talent there. But talking to him off the ice, there’s a maturity and intelligence about him. Then, watching his crisp swing and savvy golf game on this YouTube segment, you can’t help but wonder how the guy has time to be so good at multiple different things.

On the sixth hole, Wright drilled his tee shot straight down the fairway and the ball landed about six feet from what would have been a hole-in-one. Unreal.

“I guess I like that 8-iron,” Wright said with a smile while shrugging it off.

Poturalski and Henman have a nice short game

During the round, both players showed off a strong ability on the green. Poturalski sunk a putt to keep the Firebirds within a stroke entering the final hole of the challenge, and Henman drained another to force a playoff before sinking another to win the round for the Firebirds.

It makes sense, too, because both “Potsy” and “Henny” are known for their shooting touch around the goal out on the ice. Poturalski has also shown plenty of power with his shots but displayed a much different stroke at a short distance on the course.

It was not much of a surprise that Henman came through in the clutch. He has done that a few times for the Firebirds, most notably scoring the lone goal in the 2022 Teddy Bear Toss game inside Acrisure Arena.

Henman said that he considers himself a strong player on the green, but he added that he putted especially well that November night in Indio.

“We’re all competitive guys and we have some good golfers,” Henman said of the Firebirds. “Did I know that we were going to win? No. But I knew we would be competitive.”

Andrew John covers sports in the Coachella Valley for The Desert Sun and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at andrew.john@desertsun.com.