In place of an all-star game, the NHL has opted to run a 4 team, best on best national tournament, with Canada, USA, Finland, and Sweden being the competing countries. Canada unveiled their roster over a month ago, which includes 4 Golden Knights, and 3 Lightning players.

Forwards: Sam Bennett, Anthony Cirelli, Sidney Crosby, Brandon Hagel, Seth Jarvis, Travis Konecny, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Mitch Marner, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart, and Mark Stone.

Defense: Cale Makar, Josh Morrissey, Colton Parayko, Alex Pietrangelo, Travis Sanheim, Shea Theodore, and Devon Toews.

Goaltenders: Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembeault.

Early on, it’s likely that we will see Canada ice McDavid and Reinhart on the same line, as they look to be a deadly scoring duo. With the generational talent that Canada will have in their top six, it is alright to take risks with the bottom of your forward group. Guys like Seth Jarvis, Sam Bennett, and Anthony Cirelli are players that bring a different edge to their game, than a one-way star like Mark Schiefele. If the USA rolls out a line with the Tkachuk’s, or other bangers, guys like Sam Bennett will be able to counter with a great defensive game, as well as a rough and tough game to combat the USA.

On the backend, like we’ve seen in the past Canada has opted for cohesiveness and chemistry with Cale Makar and Devon Toews, along with Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore. Both defense pairs have won Stanley Cups within the last 3 years, so they give a competitive and hard nosed game to this tournament. Josh Morrissey brings great playmaking abilities on the left side, and Colton Parayko brings a strong defensive style that Canada needs on the bottom pair, and Travis Sanheim fits the same mold as Parayko.

While the team is shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with, there were still some notable omissions. Many thought that a guy like Mackenzie Weegar would make the team, when he has a stronger 5-on-5 defensive record in recent seasons and a wealth of experience playing both sides. Weegar simply excels at a lot of things in almost every situation.

On the front end, guys like Zach Hyman and John Tavares would make more sense in the spot of Seth Jarvis. Hyman and Tavares are both some of the hardest workers in the league, being able to win battles all along the boards, and being very strong net front presences. Hyman’s name might have been left off the list early on, but that is only due to the fact that the entirety of the Edmonton Oilers had a slow start to the year.

While it makes sense having Cirelli as the 4C, Tavares is one of the best faceoff men in the league, winning over 55% of his draws this season, and having a career FOW% over 53%. He also is having a resurgence in his career, hovering around point-per-game this season while being solid in both ends.

It’s easy to point out that Canada’s goaltending is the weakest part of their team, and while they don’t come close to USA’s goaltending, they still are good netminders in their own respect. Canada’s defense is going to have to work extra hard to protect these goaltenders. The added fact of playing for your own country should help these goaltenders kick it into extra gear, but let’s not expect them to turn into Canada’s own Connor Hellebuyck.

Overall, Canada will be battling the USA for the top spot in this tournament. It is a different look for the middle of February rather than the traditional all star game, but it’ll be a welcomed change to see the best players matchup against each other in games that actually matter.

Boston and Montreal serve as the host cities for the tournament that will commence on February 12th, and culminate on February 20th.

Projected Lines for Team Canada:

Reinhart-McDavid-MacKinnon
Marchand-Crosby-Stone
Hagel-Point-Marner
Bennett-Cirelli-Konecny
Jarvis

Toews-Makar
Theodore-Pietrangelo
Morrissey-Parayko
Sanheim

Binnington
Hill
Montembeault