LAS VEGAS -- Jack Eichel was on his couch, watching tennis, when the phone rang. It was Bill Guerin, the Minnesota Wild general manager and general manager of the United States team for the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.
Eichel was on the team.
The Vegas Golden Knights forward would be among the first six players named to the U.S. team, alongside forwards Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) and defensemen Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins), Adam Fox (New York Rangers) and Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks).
“It was such a huge honor,” Eichel said. “There are so many great American players right now that could have easily been selected in that group, and yeah, I just feel really fortunate to be one of those guys. Because I know that there are so many deserving players in our League.”
They chatted about the experience, about Guerin’s expectations, about what can be.
“Super excited,” Eichel said of playing in the international tournament between the U.S., Canada, Finland and Sweden from Feb. 12-20. “I think it’s going to be such a unique event. And obviously it feels like it’s been a long time since we’ve seen international hockey at the highest level.
“It’s almost like there’s a new generation of players on each side, but you still have some of the guys that have been doing it for a long time, so I think everyone’s excited. We’ve never played together before. There’s a lot of familiarity from either going through the national program together or world juniors, so I think everyone’s excited about it.”