LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Puck drop is almost here and history is ready to be made at the inaugural Four Nations Face-Off.
A collection of the world's best hockey players will represent their countries this week in Montreal and next week in Boston. Teams from Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland featuring NHL players will compete for the first-ever tournament trophy.
Who will compete?
Five Vegas Golden Knights will compete in the tournament: Winger Mark Stone, defenseman Shea Theodore and goalie Adin Hill for Team Canada, while center Jack Eichel and D-man Noah Hanifin will play for Team USA.
🎥 Stone: I’m just excited to play tomorrow. Hopefully I can help [Crosby and MacKinnon] out and we can have some success. pic.twitter.com/0BQnNQpuKP
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 11, 2025
VGK head coach Bruce Cassidy will help lead Canada as an assistant coach.
Seven Golden Knights were initially selected to the Faceoff, second-most for an NHL club. Defenseman Alex Pietrangelo (Canada) and forward William Karlsson (Sweden) pulled out to heal from injuries.
Channel 13's Nick Walters caught up with VGK insider Gary Lawless to help preview the inaugural tournament that he describes as 'best on best.'
There is hockey media from all around the world. There's a buzz in the city now about the event. The competition is certainly going to be fierce. This is a super talented collection of players and the fact they all want to win this 4 Nations Faceoff and the brand new trophy, it's starting to feel like a real event and puck drop is tomorrow.
Watch the full conversation with Gary Lawless here:
Rules of the game
In the round-robin tournament, the teams will play each other once. The two teams with the best record will advance to the championship. Games are played with NHL rules, with the exception of standing points and overtime.
A team earns three points for a win in regulation time, two points for a win in overtime/shootout, one point for a loss in overtime/shootout and zero points for a loss in regulation.
"Jack Eichel is the number one center for Team USA," Lawless said when asked which Golden Knights could make a big impact.
He's on a line with Matthew Tkachuk and Kyle Connor. He'll have a huge impact and he's on the number one power play for Team USA. Noah Hanifin will play with Brock Faber. He's on the second penalty kill unit for Team USA.
"Stone is on a line with Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon," Lawless continued. "That will be a huge line. Shea Theodore is on the second pairing on the defense for Team Canada. Jordan Binnington of the St Louis Blues will start for Team Canada against Sweden. I just spoke with Adin and he said he was disappointed, that he wanted the number one job, but I'll be ready to go if I'm called upon."
VGK players spoke to Lawless and other media after Tuesday's practices and they expressed their pride in representing their home countries.
"It never gets old wearing the red, white, and blue," Eichel said.
🎥 Eichel: USA Hockey means a lot to me. I've had the chance to represent the country at some different events. It never gets old wearing the Red, White, and Blue. 🇺🇸 #4Nations pic.twitter.com/wbTBXLgj7k
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 11, 2025
I take a lot of pride in where I'm from, not only being from an American, being from the Boston area, it means a lot to be able to do this. It's an honor and I'll do my best to represent our country.
"Even away from the game, Jack is one of my best friends," Hanifin said. "To be his teammate with Vegas but also here representing our country is something special. We've had a lot of fun so far."
"Might be biased here, but I think we got the best jerseys in the tournament," Hill said. "But I'm excited to put on the maple leaf. You dream of it as a child playing street hockey. It's a dream come true and we're excited to get it going."
🎥 Hill on the most fun part of #4Nations: I think it’s just the culture of Team Canada and being around this group of guys and learning from them. You see the way Sidney Crosby acts and MacKinnon and how they carry themselves. It’s a crazy roster. pic.twitter.com/UBvstv6hUi
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) February 11, 2025
4 Nations Face-Off kicks off Wednesday when Canada faces Sweden. Team USA begins play on Thursday by facing Finland.
