Isles Following Nelson and Team USA at 4 Nations Face-Off

The 4 Nations Face-Off has certainly captured the attention of the New York Islanders locker room. It’s not solely because their teammate Brock Nelson is competing in it, but because tournament action has been filled with intensity, pride and exciting hockey overall.

“It’s been great hockey, it’s great for the game and for the fans,” Bo Horvat said. “The guys are battling, they’re putting on a show for everybody and taking a lot of pride in the sweaters they’re wearing. It’s great to see.”

The round-robin style tournament between the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland has been action-packed, providing quality entertainment for players and fans over the NHL break. The tournament wraps up on Thursday with a highly anticipated matchup between Team USA and Team Canada in the championship game at TD Garden.

Nelson, who played in all three games for Team USA thus far, has two collective hits and three shots on goal in the tournament. He skated 17:55 TOI on Monday – his most ice time in a tournament game – in a 2-1 loss to Sweden, which was Team USA’s only defeat.

Team USA Head Coach Mike Sullivan has utilized the Islanders forward in different situations, including playing him on the left wing and putting him out on the penalty kill. As Islanders Head Coach Patrick Roy watches Nelson compete on an international stage, he’s impressed with his performance.

“He was really good on PK, and five-on-five as well,” Roy said. “I love the way he finishes his checks and stops at the net, those are things we’re working on. It was refreshing to watch. He’s been playing really well and I’m happy for him. He deserves to be there and he’s taking advantage of the opportunity. He played a lot more against Sweden, so good for him.”

The Isles have been dialed into the tournament to watch their teammate play for Team USA and they’re even more excited to watch him compete Thursday’s championship game against Canada.

“I’ve been tuning in, paying attention and watching him play,” said Captain Anders Lee. “He looks good out there. The tournament overall seems to be a great success, and in a couple nights we’ll have a great game to watch.”

Thursday’s showdown will be a rematch between the United States and Canada, with both teams going head-to-head with the championship on the line. Highlights of Team USA’s 3-1 win over Canada on Saturday have gone viral and the broadcast itself drew 10.1 million viewers, per the NHL.

The rivalry matchup between the two countries riled up fans in the first 10 seconds, literally, with three fights breaking out to start the contest. The Isles are hockey fans themselves and raved about the game – and see it as an opportunity to grow the game.

“You watch shows on ESPN, like Get Up, they're comparing what the NBA can do to do what the NHL did with this kind of break,” Casey Cizikas said. “What they've done is has turned some heads, and it's done all the right things, and it's gotten a lot of people, I think, involved that don't necessarily watch hockey overall.”

The US-Canada rivalry is alive in the Isles locker room, as there’s a pretty even split between American and Canadian-born players. There’s never a shortage of lighthearted banter when the two countries face off in international play.

“It’s all fun and games,” Lee said, a Minnesota native. “There’s always jabs, but no one takes them too seriously.”

Some Canadian-born players can put their allegiance aside a little bit as they support their teammate on Team USA.

“I think a lot of guys are torn because you’ve got your teammate Brock playing for Team USA, but as Canadians we’re always rooting for Canada,” said Horvat, a native of London, ON. “But no matter what, it’s going to be a great game [on Thursday].

Not a ton of chirping has been going on between the American and Canadian-born Islanders so far, but the stakes are high for Thursday’s championship game between the United States and Canada.

“We’ll wait and see for the one that counts the most I guess,” Scott Mayfield said with a laugh. “But it’s fun, we all love our country and it’s been pretty great to watch so far.”