NHL
Back in February, at the end of a strong showing at the 4 Nations Face-Off, the United States was a shot from upending Canada in the championship game.
That was, of course, until Connor McDavid ruined it all with an overtime winner.
Still, the Americans felt confident with the roster they put together and think with a couple tweaks and potential additions (roster sizes are two more than the 4 Nations, so the United States will likely invite 14 forwards, eight defensemen and three goalies), they’ll have a viable chance next February to win their first gold medal in men’s hockey at the Winter Olympics since 1980.
“We are going to Milan to win gold, period,” Bill Guerin, general manager for the United States’ men’s hockey team, told The Athletic recently.
The tournament between 12 nations will be held Feb. 11 to 22. It will begin with a round-robin preliminary round, with the United States in a group with Germany, Latvia and Denmark. The United States will hold an orientation camp in Plymouth, Mich., in late August, to which they will invite around 45 Olympic hopefuls. The final rosters are expected to be announced Dec. 31.
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On Monday, each of the 12 countries named their first six players onto a preliminary roster. As projected by The Athletic, the United States picked five of the same six they chose for their initial 4 Nations Face-Off roster last June. The one exception was Ottawa Senators forward Brady Tkachuk subbing in for New York Rangers defenseman Adam Fox.
“We looked back at the 4 Nations tournament, and the one thing we all took away — I think everybody can take away — is that there’s just no room out there,” Guerin said. “You have to be able to play in tight hockey games. You have to be highly competitive, and I think these six players represent that.”
Here’s a full look at the U.S. First Six:
The Maple Leafs captain and first-line center has the same roles for Team USA. Nobody in the NHL has more goals than Matthews’ 401 since he entered the league in 2016, and the Americans will be looking for goal scoring from a player who was banged up at 4 Nations (he missed a meaningless game against Sweden). He ended the tournament with three assists but no goals in three games. Matthews’ career has included a Calder Trophy, a Hart Trophy, a Ted Lindsay Award and three Rocket Richard trophies.
Auston Matthews on surprising John Hynes with a 50th birthday dessert: “Fiftieth birthday, so that’s a big one. We wanted to give him a little surprise and just try to keep that birthday cake as far away from Billy (Guerin) as possible.” 😁 pic.twitter.com/bsKGLglmXn
— Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) February 11, 2025
The oldest son of Guerin’s longtime USA Hockey linemate, Keith Tkachuk, Matthew could be one day from winning the Stanley Cup for the second year in a row. Tkachuk got hurt in the round-robin portion of the 4 Nations Face-Off against Canada, likely when he fought Brandon Hagel at the start of the game. He was so banged up, he could barely play in the championship against Canada and ended up missing the rest of the regular season for Florida. The 27-year-old is a two-time 40-goal, 100-point scorer.
BRANDON HAGEL AND MATTHEW TKACHUK DROP GLOVES AT PUCK DROP 😱
📺 ABC pic.twitter.com/Agc8UN3fIo
— ESPN (@espn) February 16, 2025
Maybe the United States’ best player in the 4 Nations, Matthew’s kid brother impressed enough to replace Fox on the First Six this go-around. That doesn’t mean Fox is off the Olympic team, but he struggled with the pace in 4 Nations and played a big role in McDavid’s winning goal in overtime in the title game. There’s no doubt Fox, a former Norris Trophy winner, will have to play his way onto the team in the first part of the season with the Rangers. But Tkachuk was a heart-and-soul guy for Team USA in Montreal and Boston and provided physicality, offense (tied with Jake Guentzel for the team lead with three goals), energy and even a fight, though that’s not permitted in the Olympics.
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“The impact that Brady had on the team and his role in how we play, that was a big part of it,” Guerin said Monday. “Adam, his tournament was fine. It wasn’t as well as he could’ve played. His season wasn’t up to his standards, but he’s very much in the mix. This is just a list we had to come out with, and I just felt more comfortable with Brady on it this time around.”
NOW BRADY TKACHUK AND SAM BENNETT ARE THROWING HAYMAKERS 🔥
THIS IS USA-CANADA HOCKEY 😱 pic.twitter.com/TlqEfR0uIL
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 16, 2025
After a chaotic situation at the start of the tournament, with the U.S. indicating that Hughes wanted and planned to play, the Canucks captain was finally held out of the tournament by the Canucks brass and wasn’t able to join his brother, Jack, on the roster. The 2024 Norris Trophy winner would be replaced by Jake Sanderson, who was so good in the tournament that he’s expected to be a lock to make the Olympic roster. As dynamic as they get from the back end, Hughes’ 312 points over the past four years are second in the NHL among defensemen to Cale Makar’s 334.
Vegas’ top-line center and 2023 Stanley Cup champion finished second on the U.S. roster in the 4 Nations with four assists (two behind Zach Werenski). The Americans will be hoping for some goal scoring in the Olympics from Eichel, but he’s turned into one of the best two-way centermen in the NHL and is coming off an exceptional year for Vegas, with 28 goals and a career-high 94 points.
The Bruins’ top defenseman was having a tremendous 4 Nations tournament when he sustained a shoulder injury after being cross-checked by Joel Armia into the post. He was then lost for the rest of the tournament (and the Bruins’ season) after suffering a serious infection after getting an injection so he could play in the round-robin game against Canada. McAvoy is a beautiful mix of offense and physicality and could make a huge impact if the United States and Canada meet in Milan. His presence was glaringly missing at the end of 4 Nations (the Americans lost both games he missed).
Here’s Armia’s cheapshot on McAvoy, those posts don’t give like they used to. pic.twitter.com/0snlajkoKG
— dafoomie (@dafoomie) February 19, 2025
Canada: Sidney Crosby, Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid, Brayden Point, Sam Reinhart
Czechia: Lukas Dostal, Radko Gudas, Martin Necas, Ondrej Palat, David Pastrnak, Pavel Zacha
Denmark: Frederik Andersen, Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nikolaj Ehlers, Lars Eller, Jesper Jensen Aabo, Jonas Rondbjerg
Finland: Sebastian Aho, Aleksander Barkov, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Mikko Rantanen, Juuse Saros
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France: Yohann Auvitu, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Jules Boscq, Hugo Gallet, Jordann Perret, Alexandre Texier
Germany: Leon Draisaitl, Philipp Grubauer, Lukas Reichel, Moritz Seider, Tim Stützle, Nico Sturm
Italy: Damian Clara, Diego Kostner, Thomas Larkin, Daniel Mantenuto, Tommy Purdeller, Luca Zanatta
Latvia: Rodrigo Abols, Uvis Balinskis, Zemgus Girgensons, Elvis Merzlikins, Arturs Silovs, Teodors Blugers
Sweden: Rasmus Dahlin, Victor Hedman, Adrian Kempe, Gabriel Landeskog, William Nylander, Lucas Raymond
Switzerland: Kevin Fiala, Nico Hischier, Roman Josi, Timo Meier, Nino Niederreiter, Jonas Siegenthaler
Slovakia: Erik Cernak, Martin Fehervary, Simon Nemec, Martin Pospisil, Juraj Slafkovsky, Tomas Tatar
United States: Jack Eichel, Quinn Hughes, Auston Matthews, Charlie McAvoy, Brady Tkachuk, Matthew Tkachuk
(Photo of Brady Tkachuk: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
