The rosters have officially been revealed for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off and hockey fans are buzzing with the news.
In February 2025, the NHL will be replacing its typical All-Star weekend with the 4 Nations Face-Off, a round robin international tournament featuring some of the top names in the sport. And on Wednesday, the rosters for the tournament were revealed for the participants: the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland.
The rosters feature 23 players each, with 20 skaters and three goalies. However, with such limited rosters, some real good players were left off the lineup in favor of others.
With the rosters finally revealed, these are the biggest players that we believe were snubbed from the 4 Nations Face-Off.
United States: F Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens
While it hasn’t been a banner year for the Canadiens, Cole Caufield is leading the team in goals (16), is second in points (23) and is currently on pace for a career-year in his fourth full season in the league. Not sure what else Caufield could have done here to earn a spot.
United States: F Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres
Likewise, Tage Thompson is the Sabres’ leading goal scorer (13) past the quarter pole of the season and is a point per game player despite losing time due to injury. I get that Thompson hasn’t hit the highs he hit in his 94-point season a few years ago, but he deserved a better look here from the Team USA brass.
United States: G Joseph Woll, Toronto Maple Leafs
The goaltender selections for Team USA are all really solid, but Joseph Woll has put together quite a season so far in limited games since his return from injury. In eight games played in the 2024-25 season, Woll is 6-2-0 with a .923 save percentage for the Maple Leafs. If Team USA’s goaltending falters, one has to wonder if Woll would have been a better fit.
Canada: F Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks
Yes, Bedard hasn’t been playing well this season, but he’s an exciting hockey player all the same and honestly, probably would perform better with actual talent around him. At least this snub is for a mid-season tournament and not for, say, the Olympics.
Canada: D Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
Coming off last season’s over point-per-game pace, Evan Bouchard received a lot of hype from the hockey community. Unfortunately, his slower offensive pace this season seemingly sidelined Bouchard here for more well-rounded defensemen for Canada.
Canada: G Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken
There was buzz that Joey Daccord could be chosen for a Canadian team with a weaker goaltending pool. However, this never manifested because Daccord — while a Canadian citizen and born to Canadian and Swiss parents — doesn’t have a Canadian passport and cannot play for Team Canada. A shame, because he’s played really well with the Kraken this year (11-6-1 record and a .912 save percentage).
Sweden: F William Eklund, San Jose Sharks
The Sharks might be one of the NHL’s worst teams, yet William Eklund is still finding success as a play-driving forward on the ice. With five goals and 18 points — second overall on the team — at just age 22, Eklund’s exclusion from Sweden’s roster feels like a mistake when the team could have opted for a younger forward.
Sweden: F Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins
Rickard Rakell is likely due for his best NHL season in some time in Pittsburgh, even with the Penguins in a bind this year. Of course, Sidney Crosby and company rule the roost in Pittsburgh, but Rakell is tied with 4 Nations Face-Off bound Erik Karlsson with 16 points and he leads the team in goals with 10 on the season.
Finland: G Joonas Korpisalo, Boston Bruins
Juuse Saros was always going to be a lock for Finland in goal, but it’s interesting that Joonas Korpisalo didn’t make the cut. Korpisalo did his best to hold the Bruins together while Jeremy Swayman was out at the beginning of the season, an effort that has gone unrewarded so far. Plus, he’s an experienced goaltender who only sits behind Saros in total games played for a Finnish netminder (286 versus 371 games played).
[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1996]