Zizing 'Em Up: Potential NHL international tournament roster guesses
Experts explore possibilities for 4-team event being planned for next season
© Gregory Shamus/Getty Images
TORONTO -- The thirst of hockey fans for international, best-on-best play snowballed last week with news that the NHL is making plans to hold a four-team, in-season tournament next season.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman revealed the concept at the League’s Board of Governors meetings in Seattle on Tuesday. The NHL hasn’t held or participated in an international tournament since the World Cup of Hockey 2016.
Before we proceed any further, a couple of facts need to be pointed out.
First, Commissioner Bettman emphasized that nothing has been finalized. And though he indicated the United States, Sweden, Canada and Finland would be the four participating countries, there has been no confirmation.
That hasn’t stopped hockey lovers across the globe from daring to dream.
As such, this week’s edition of Zizing ’Em Up is going to feature a different format from the usual notes-based column. With the holiday season approaching, time to have a bit of fun. ’Tis the season, after all.
Anytime the notion of national teams comes up, puckheads love to guess what the rosters might look like. This time is no exception.
Can you imagine a Canada power play with generational talents Sidney Crosby, Connor McDavid and Connor Bedard on the ice at the same time?
Or a United States shift that features all three Hughes brothers, Quinn, Jack and Luke, in a family snapshot for the ages?
How about a Sweden defenseman corps led by two Norris Trophy winners as the NHL’s best at the position -- Erik Karlsson (2012, 2015, 2023) and Victor Hedman (2018) -- and a 23-year-old kid, Rasmus Dahlin, who’s on a trajectory to join them in that honor one day?
And what possibly might be going through a goalie’s mind if a Finland dynamic duo of Aleksander Barkov and Mikko Rantanen were to come in on a 2-on-1 against him?
The possibilities are endless. And, in those four countries, confirmation or not, they’re already being thought about.
To that end, we decided to bring in some experts from each country to explore how those rosters might be built.
For the U.S., we turned to respected colleague and longtime friend Nick Cotsonika, columnist with NHL.com. Nick grew up in the hockey hotbed of Michigan, covered the Detroit Red Wings in Hockeytown USA during their heyday in the early 2000s and lives not too far from the USA Hockey National Team Development Program headquarters in Plymouth, Michigan.
For insight into the Scandinavian nations, we turned to two broadcasters, each of whom is a signature voice of the sport in his native country.
Jonatan Lindquist has been close friends with Hedman since the two were kids growing up in the hockey-crazed city of Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, the community that produced NHLers Peter Forsberg, Markus Naslund, and Henrik and Daniel Sedin. After covering the NHL in North America for years, he returned to Sweden, where he does play-by-play and rinkside interviews for Viaplay Sweden, including covering the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal last month.
Antti Makinen is a past and deserving winner of the Jouko Autero Award, which goes to the best Finnish ice hockey reporter/journalist. Not only does he cover Finnish hockey domestically and internationally for Viaplay Finland, he annually comes to the Stanley Cup Final to call the games for the public back home.
Finally, yours truly, the ankle-skating, road hockey-playing nut from Scarborough, Ontario, who’s lived out his childhood dream of covering the sport he loves, will offer up thoughts on Canada. The national team has always been a passion of mine dating to 1972, when public-school classes were closed in order for 200 of us to go to the gym to watch Paul Henderson score his historic winning goal for Canada against the Soviet Union with 34 seconds remaining in Game 8 of the Summit Series, a moment still generally regarded as the greatest in the country’s sports history.
Keep in mind: This is not a formal exercise. It’s supposed to be fun. Some forwards might be listed out of position or on the wrong wing; some defense pairs might feature two players who shoot from the same side. We’re not going to quibble about that, at least not yet. Not when the potential tournament is still more than a year away. There is plenty of time to iron out those things. This is just a big-picture look at who might be on each team in the opinion of four people who earn a living in the sport.
It’s opinion, not fact. It’s OK to disagree with us. If so, bring on the debate!
Without further ado, here’s a look, in alphabetical order, at the four teams. Panelists were ask to name 16 forwards, eight defensemen and four goalies.
(*Denotes a player who has yet to play in the NHL.)
CANADA
Forwards
Brad Marchand -- Sidney Crosby -- Nathan MacKinnon
Zach Hyman -- Connor McDavid -- Ryan Nugent-Hopkins
Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Mitchell Marner
Mark Scheifele -- Connor Bedard -- Mark Stone
Defensemen
Alex Pietrangelo -- Shea Theodore
Morgan Rielly -- Josh Morrissey
Goalies
Extras: F: Sam Reinhart, Mathew Barzal, Nick Suzuki, John Tavares; D: Dougie Hamilton, Brandon Montour; G: Jordan Binnington, Carter Hart
ZIZE’S TAKE: McDavid has always wanted to play on the same team as Crosby in meaningful games. He finally gets his chance … The talent pool of available skaters is so deep, some worthy players have been left out. Of note for consideration: forwards Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas, Carter Verhaeghe, Travis Konecny, Dylan Cozens and, if sandpaper is needed, Nazem Kadri; and defensemen Vince Dunn, Owen Power and Aaron Ekblad. … Goaltending is the biggest question mark. Is bringing both of the Vegas Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup-winning goalies, Hill and Thompson, too far-fetched? … And what of Cam Talbot, who’s an early frontrunner for the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie, with a 1.91 goals-against average through his first 18 games with the Los Angeles Kings this season? He’ll be 37 at the time of the potential tournament, but age shouldn’t matter if you’re playing the best hockey of your career.
THE SKINNY: During Canada’s run of back-to-back Olympic gold medals in 2010 and 2014, management believed in having players who had connections with each other -- teammates with on-ice chemistry, players who skated together during the summer, things like that. The logic: In a short tournament, with little time to get acclimated, familiarity matters. In this case, Crosby, MacKinnon and Marchand practice together in the Halifax, Nova Scotia, area during the offseason. And the all-Edmonton Oilers line of Hyman, McDavid and Nugent-Hopkins would be on the gas from the get-go.
FINLAND
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen -- Roope Hintz -- Mikko Rantanen
Anton Lundell -- Aleksander Barkov -- Patrik Laine
Matias Maccelli -- Sebastian Aho -- Teuvo Teravainen
Eetu Luostarinen -- Jesperi Kotkaniemi -- Mikael Granlund
Defensemen
Niko Mikkola -- Miro Heiskanen
Juuso Valimaki -- Henri Jokiharju
Olli Maatta -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Goalies
Extras: F: Kaapo Kakko, Eeli Tolvanen, Juuso Parssinen, Joakim Kemell*; D: Urho Vaakanainen, Esa Lindell; G: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Kevin Lankinen
ANTTI’S TAKE: “With this roster, Finland is ready to challenge all the others … By far the best part is the strength up the middle. Hintz, Barkov, Aho and Kotkaniemi can score, check and make life miserable for opponents in so many ways … The defense could have more skill with the puck, but there is more than enough character on the back end.”
THE SKINNY: Lehkonen and Rantanen are Colorado Avalanche teammates who grew up playing together in Finland. … The depth at center can grind down opponents, especially later in games when teams begin to fatigue. … Saros and Husso are underrated and have the potential to be difference-makers. … The makeup of this team is conducive to up-tempo hockey or suffocating defensive play, whatever way you want to play it. … Laine is always motivated representing Finland.
SWEDEN
Forwards
Adrian Kempe -- Elias Pettersson -- William Nylander
Jesper Bratt -- Mika Zibanejad -- Leo Carlsson
Filip Forsberg -- Joel Eriksson Ek -- Elias Lindholm
Gabriel Landeskog -- William Karlsson -- Lucas Raymond
Defensemen
Victor Hedman -- Erik Karlsson
Mattias Ekholm -- Rasmus Andersson
Goalies
Extras: F: Mikael Backlund, Jesper Fast, Calle Jarnkrok, William Eklund; D: Gustav Forsling, Hampus Lindholm; G: Filip Gustavsson, Jesper Wallstedt*
JONATAN’S TAKE: “The forward group has a lot of depth with players who are good at both ends of the ice. … The raw, game-breaking talent might be a question mark and would likely have to come from Pettersson and Nylander, and perhaps also Carlsson, who’d have more than a year to develop. … The blue line is the team’s strength. Between Karlsson, Dahlin and Hedman, there’ll be plenty of points. Defensive aces like Forsling, Ekholm, Lindholm and Brodin would make for a very well-rounded blue line. … One weakness could be a lack of right-handed defensemen, but many in Europe learn to be flexible on the bigger ice surfaces. … As of now, the starting job would go to either Ullmark, the Vezina winner last season, or Markstrom, the runner-up for the award in 2022.”
THE SKINNY: Hedman and Karlsson are close friends who will be pumped up to play together. The buzz around Sweden will elevate even more if Landeskog, who is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 season after having right knee surgery seven months ago, can rebound to become the influential player he once was. The opportunity to watch Nylander and Pettersson play keep-away with the puck together, much to the chagrin of other teams, would be fun.
UNITED STATES
Forwards
Clayton Keller-- Auston Matthews -- Kyle Connor
Brady Tkachuk -- Jack Hughes -- Matthew Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel -- Dylan Larkin -- Alex DeBrincat
Tage Thompson -- Jack Eichel -- J.T. Miller
Defensemen
Goalies
Extras: F: Jason Robertson, Chris Kreider, Brock Boeser, Logan Cooley; D: Jaccob Slavin, Charlie McAvoy; G: Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman
NICK’S TAKE: “This roster leaves out some accomplished veterans, but we’re projecting for 2025, more than a year away. … A good blend of youth and experience, speed and skill, and good ol’ American grit. … The big story is going to be the two sets of brothers -- the Hugheses and the Tkachuks -- who are great already in the NHL and should be even better. … Keith Tkachuk was part of the last team from the United States to win a best-on-best tournament, the 1996 World Cup of Hockey. This won’t be quite best-on-best, but it’ll be close to it. Wouldn’t it be something if sons Brady and Matthew help the United States win a big one again on the international stage? … This roster has a good chance to win gold.”
THE SKINNY: This might very well be the most talented American roster I’ve ever seen. There is elite skill at every position, from Demko, Hellebuyck and Oettinger in goal, to Fox and Hughes on the blue line, to Matthews and the Tkachuk brothers up front, creating chaos on every shift. Matthews and Keller are pals and skate together in Arizona during the offseason. If Patrick Kane can elevate his game, he could be part of an all-Detroit Red Wings line with DeBrincat and Larkin. How cool would it be to see a Quinn Hughes-Luke Hughes defense pair, bringing their one-time family shinny games onto the international stage?
QUOTE/UNQUOTE
“We didn’t want to be known as a one-time deal. We believe in ourselves and guys worked hard over the summer with the goal of 'Let’s try and do this again.'"
-- Golden Knights defenseman Pietrangelo on the strong start to the season for the defending Stanley Cup champions, who lead the NHL at 18-5-5 following a 6-1 win at the Dallas Stars on Saturday
THE SUNDAY LIST
The upcoming week features some juicy matchups of key figures, whether they’re returning to face their former teams or taking on a fellow generational player for the first time. Consider these:
1. Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders, Monday: Tavares left the Islanders in 2018, but the team’s loyal legion of fans won’t let him forget how much they still loathe him. Ever.
2. Chicago Blackhawks at Edmonton Oilers, Tuesday: McDavid versus Bedard. Welcome to the inaugural Connor Bowl. Yes, please.
3. Pittsburgh Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs, Saturday: Kyle Dubas’ departure as Toronto general manager in May was shrouded in controversy. Now he returns to Scotiabank Arena, this time with Pittsburgh as president of hockey operations and GM. The Penguins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-2 on Nov. 25 in Pittsburgh. This time he’ll be at his old stomping grounds.
