To the surprise of nobody, there were plenty of players snubbed following the reveal of Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster.
The international tournament, which begins February 8, features four countries in Canada, USA, Sweden, and Finland. All four teams revealed their rosters on Wednesday, and while all had some notable snubs, none were anywhere close to the level of Canada’s.
That isn’t a knock on the team Canada selected, but a testament to how many great Canadians there are in the NHL. They could probably throw three teams together for best-on-best tournaments such as this, and the third team would have a legitimate shot at winning it.
Here’s an example of what a second Team Canada roster could look like based on the many individuals who were snubbed from this 4 Nations event:
Connor Bedard – Mat Barzal – Zach Hyman
Matt Duchene – Mark Scheifele – Nick Suzuki
Carter Verhaeghe – Robert Thomas – Alexis Lafreniere
Tom Wilson – John Tavares – Steven Stamkos
Macklin Celebrini
MacKenzie Weegar – Evan Bouchard
Morgan Rielly – Dougie Hamilton
Aaron Ekblad – Brandon Montour
Noah Dobson
Logan Thompson
Cam Talbot
Stuart Skinner
This roster is one that could easily win the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament if they were allowed to compete. They have some elite offensive talent up front in guys like Connor Bedard, Mat Barzal, and Mark Scheifele, while also having some strong defensive-minded players like Nick Suzuki.
With the actual Canada team choosing to add Sam Bennett for his physicality and overall toughness, this team featured above includes Tom Wilson to help match that.
There is a legitimate argument to be made that this blue line is better than the one that will be participating in the tournament. It once again indicates just how much NHL talent Canada has.
Many were surprised that Logan Thompson wasn’t able to earn a spot between the pipes, given his strong start to the season and overall solid track record. Some would argue that he’s a better goalie than Canada’s presumed starter, Jordan Binnington.
While we will never get to find out, this team, at least on paper, looks like one that would have a legitimate shot at winning the 4 Nations tournament.
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