U.S. 4 Nations leaders driven to win again by 2015 U-18 Worlds experience

MONTREAL -- After the United States took its team picture at Bell Centre on Tuesday, Charlie McAvoy, Auston Matthews and Matthew Tkachuk gathered for their own photo.

They are playing together in a best-on-best tournament for the first time and leading their country in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Matthews as captain, McAvoy and Tkachuk as alternates.

But they go back more than a decade. They played together at USA Hockey's National Team Development program, went to high school together and won gold together at the 2015 IIHF Under-18 World Championship in Switzerland.

They developed a lifelong bond and the belief the United States could succeed on the international stage -- a foundation, they hope, for this moment.

"Yes, we won that U-18 Worlds, which is one of the great hockey memories that I have, especially internationally," McAvoy said. "We’ve won together. We've done it. We know we can do it."

Matthews, an alternate captain at the U-18 Worlds in 2015, remembers how tight the group was back then.

"Those two years were two of the finest years of hockey for me, and just the relationships and friendships that you build throughout those times," he said. "Yeah, obviously, want that to translate into something like this, a tournament that's very quick, right to it."

Tkachuk said that U-18 Worlds was the biggest tournament of their lives at the time.

"For us to go out there and win it was awesome, and to be able to do it with a bunch of guys that are on the team now … it's really fun to come back and play with these guys," he said. "And yes, having that, I guess, winning experience with them, it makes it a lot more fun and a lot more comfortable."

McAvoy, Matthews and Tkachuk now have a chance to lead the United States to its first title in a best-on-best tournament since the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.

The United States leads the 4 Nations Face-Off standings with three points after a 6-1 win against Finland on Thursday. Canada is second with two points after a 4-3 overtime win against Sweden on Wednesday. The rivals meet at Bell Centre on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

Each team plays three round-robin games, earning three points for a win in regulation, two points for win in overtime or a shootout, one point for a loss in OT or a shootout, and none for a loss in regulation. The top two will play in the championship game at TD Garden in Boston on Feb. 20.

"It's not hard for me to see how the U.S. could lean on those three guys a decade later," said Don Granato, who coached them at the NTDP and the U-18 Worlds. "You could see it back then. You knew they were special players, and they were for me at that time."

You need to understand how the NTDP program works and what the U-18 Worlds means.

USA Hockey selects top players from around the United States for the NTDP, which was based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and now is in Plymouth, Michigan. McAvoy, Matthews and Tkachuk each spent two seasons there, from 2013-15, training on the ice and off, playing tough competition at home and abroad.

The ultimate goal is to develop for the NHL and top international competition. The immediate goal is to win the U-18 Worlds.

"You're there to win that tournament, and they remind you every step of the way," McAvoy said.

The United States won the tournament in 2014 in Finland. Matthews was on that team. So were four others who are playing for the U.S. in the 4 Nations Face-Off: defenseman Noah Hanifin and forwards Jack Eichel, Kyle Connor and Dylan Larkin.

"You're just thinking, 'Next year I've got to win that tournament,' so there’s a lot of pressure," McAvoy said. "You're almost, like, two years with an eye on a watch, like, 'OK, that tournament's 10 months away …' 'It’s eight months away …'

"And then we went over there, and you're ready."

Granato made sure they were ready, challenging his leaders because he knew that they could take it and that it would help them grow.

"Those three guys were absolute leaders, because they had confidence that their peers didn't," he said. "Confidence in their ability and their ability to succeed. They did separate themselves by the U-18 year in that regard. … They were guys I could really lean on hard and knew they would not fold. They would rise."

In the last international event before the U-18 Worlds, Granato picked on McAvoy on purpose. McAvoy was going to be the United States' go-to defenseman. The team would need him to elevate.

"I remember getting on him for everything, every little pass," Granato said. "Pass in a guy's feet, I'd challenge him on the bench. 'Hey! Is that good enough? You just put it in his feet! He took a hit because you put it in his feet!' Between periods, I had an assistant show him video of what I was yelling at him about, so he'd see it."

It was hard. It was supposed to be.

"He just kept giving it to me, and I remember how much it hurt," McAvoy said. "Like, I was sad, down. But I responded. I played really well. … He was a hell of a coach. I loved playing for Donnie."

The U.S. lost 3-1 to Russia in the opening game of the U-18 Worlds, then went 6-0-0 the rest of the tournament, outscoring the opposition 45-10.

In the quarterfinals against the Czech Republic, the line of Matthews, Tkachuk and Jack Roslovic messed up a 3-on-0 by overpassing. Granato barked at them when they got back to the bench and sat them for a shift.

"While they were sitting, I walked to one of the assistants," Granato said. "He was chuckling at how I gave it to them. I said, 'What's the chance they go out there and score their next shift?' He said, 'That would be about 100 percent.' I said, 'My thought exactly.' And sure enough, they went out and scored."

Matthews gave the U.S. a 5-1 lead, assisted by Tkachuk and Roslovic, and they went on to win 7-2. Then they routed Canada 7-2 in the semifinals.

They outshot Finland 62-20 in the gold-medal game, and this was a Finland team that had a couple of stars now playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off -- Sebastian Aho and Patrik Laine. But that game was a nail-biter that needed big players to come up big in the biggest moments.

The United States gave up a goal 17 seconds into the first period and didn't tie the game 1-1 until Roslovic scored at 8:41 of the third, assisted by Tkachuk and Matthews. The U.S. won it 2-1 when Colin White scored at 12:44 of overtime, with McAvoy getting an assist. The U.S. outshot Finland 18-2 in overtime.

Roslovic called it a "mic drop," showing the United States had top talent. Matthews led that tournament with 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in seven games and was named the its best forward and most valuable player. Tkachuk had 12 points (two goals, 10 assists). McAvoy had four assists.

In the 2016 NHL Draft, the Toronto Maple Leafs selected Matthews No. 1, the Calgary Flames chose Tkachuk at No. 6, and the Boston Bruins selected McAvoy at No. 14.

Matthews won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2016-17; the Hart Trophy as most valuable player in 2021-22; and the Rocket Richard Trophy as the League's leading goal-scorer in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2023-24.

Tkachuk has become a top power forward and won the Stanley Cup with the Florida Panthers last season. Three times, McAvoy has been in the top 10 in the voting for the Norris Trophy, which goes to the best defenseman in the NHL; he's been in the top five twice.

"To see what they've done, to see how they've grown and to see what they've become in the NHL and captains of the 4 Nations team, it's really cool," Roslovic said. "You always knew they were special, and it's great to see that work paying off."

Now they're trying make it pay off at the highest level in the 4 Nations Face-Off.

"No matter what level it is or where you're playing or what team it is, for your country, it's an unbelievable honor," said Luke Kunin, the U.S. captain for the 2015 World U-18s. "I know those guys don't take it for granted. It means a lot to them, and I know they're going to do a great job."

NHL.com independent correspondents Max Miller and Jessi Pierce contributed to this report