Alex Pietrangelo remembers what it felt like to look at Sidney Crosby up shut at observe.
It is one factor to battle towards prime gamers like Crosby or Connor McDavid within the NHL. It is one other factor completely to drag on the identical jersey, speak to them on the rink, and see how they work on the ice, day in and day trip.
Pietrangelo teamed up with Crosby to win an Olympic gold medal in 2014, and a World Cup of Hockey title in 2016. However he is by no means discovered himself sharing the ice with each Crosby and McDavid, “generational abilities” who make the sport higher.
The Vegas Golden Knights defenceman will get to do this for the primary time this February as part of Workforce Canada’s entry on the 4 Nations Face-Off. The new NHL-hosted event that act as a key measuring stick forward of NHL gamers’ return to the 2026 Olympics in Italy, after lacking the final two Video games.
“The objective for all of us is to develop the sport and have the sport being seen worldwide,” Pietrangelo instructed reporters on Thursday, a day after the 23-player rosters for all 4 nations had been unveiled.
“You get two of the most effective gamers, if not the 2 finest gamers enjoying with one another in sure conditions … that is a reasonably enjoyable factor to look at.”
Crosby and Pietrangelo are the connection to Workforce Canada’s previous. They characterize Olympic gold in Sochi, and the defensive machine of a group that shut out Sweden within the gold-medal sport.
Becoming a member of them will likely be a number of gamers who’ve been Canada’s current for some time, however who’ve by no means had the chance to drag on a Canadian sweater on the Olympics, together with McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon.
The event, which additionally contains Sweden and Finland, begins Feb. 12 in Montreal. That metropolis will cut up internet hosting duties with Boston, culminating in a championship sport within the latter metropolis on Feb. 20.
Listed here are 5 issues to learn about Canada’s group forward of that event:
Robust competitors
Like McDavid and MacKinnon, different nations’ stars are getting their first style of worldwide best-on-best play, too.
Finland boasts maybe the most effective two-way ahead on the planet in Aleksander Barkov, who is aware of a factor or two about main a championship group, after captaining the Florida Panthers to the Stanley Cup this previous spring.
Nobody stays from the American group that crashed out of the World Cup of Hockey in 2016. That squad completed final of their group, thanks partially to dropping a number of gifted younger gamers to the 23-and-under Workforce North America.
However this American group appears just like the group to beat. It begins with the strongest trio in internet, led by reigning Vezina Trophy winner and Winnipeg Jets starter, Connor Hellebuyck.
The group additionally boasts two of the final 4 Norris Trophy winners for finest defenceman within the league in Vancouver’s Quinn Hughes and Adam Fox.
Up entrance, the Individuals will be capable to ship out probably the greatest shooters on the planet in Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews, together with expert forwards like Jack Hughes, Winnipeg’s Kyle Connor and Jack Eichel.
Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and his Stanley Cup-champion brother, Matthew, will likely be there, too, making the Individuals tougher and positively extra annoying to play towards.
An edge can also go to the Individuals in terms of familiarity. A number of gamers competed collectively on the U.S. Nationwide Workforce Improvement Program. Having two units of brothers seemingly would not harm, both.
Olympic audition
The Olympics may not be entrance of thoughts for the 23 Canadian gamers on the ice come February.
Even when gamers aren’t saying it, there isn’t any doubt the event is a measuring stick for all 4 nations to see what works, who performs properly collectively, and who administration teams need on their rosters in 2026.
For followers, it is also a style of what to anticipate on the Olympics, having not had a best-on-best event with NHL gamers in almost a decade.
Canadian GM Don Sweeney stated the administration group picked the most effective 23 gamers who they suppose can win a event now.
However realizing NHL gamers will likely be a part of the Olympic programme in 2026 and 2030, the group additionally frolicked working to establish gamers who may not be able to push another person out of a roster spot now, however who may play a job on Workforce Canada down the highway.
“We wished to search out that steadiness of figuring out that subsequent core of nice gamers,” Sweeney stated.
Bedard’s omission
Talking of the subsequent era of nice gamers, one title lacking from the Canadian roster is Connor Bedard.
The 19-year-old hasn’t had an eye-popping season, registering 19 factors in 26 video games on basement-dwelling Chicago. However having Bedard on the roster may have given him a style of what a best-on-best event seems like, even when he performed a minimal position.
“He is working by way of that scenario the place he will get all the eye doable from the most effective gamers that he is enjoying towards every evening,” Sweeney stated.
“I feel he is residing and respiratory it proper now and it is solely going to assist him and proceed to construct his resume, and we’re enthusiastic about that. There are a number of different gamers that fall in the identical class that very properly may very well be a part of [2026 GM Doug Armstrong’s] group within the Olympics.”
With the 4 Nations event nonetheless two months away, Bedard may very well be on the prime of the record for a call-up ought to somebody get injured.
Questions in internet
For years, Canada had a humiliation of riches in internet, from Martin Brodeur, to Roberto Luongo, and most lately, Carey Worth.
This time round, there isn’t any surefire guess. There are two Stanley Cup winners in Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill, plus the Montreal Canadiens’ Sam Montembeault.
Examine that with the American roster. If Hellebuyck falters, the employees can flip to Jake Oettinger or Jeremy Swayman.
Sweeney downplayed the considerations about Canada’s goaltending, praising the three netminders for his or her competitiveness and expertise enjoying in high-stakes video games.
“We had been much more calm in selecting the goaltenders than possibly what the skin world was viewing,” the GM stated. “I feel we had an incredible quantity of decisions and a few guys which have performed rather well.”
Expertise within the locker room
Whereas Canada is the underdog in internet, they could have a bonus within the locker room.
Past Crosby and Pietrangelo’s expertise successful Olympic gold, there are additionally a mixed 20 Stanley Cup rings on the Canadian group. 5 gamers on the roster have worn the captain’s C for Canada at a global event.
“You may by no means underestimate how a lot that issues: When the sport’s on the road, when there’s 20,000 folks on the fringe of their seat, who’s beneath management in these conditions?” he stated.
“When possibly a sport is sliding, the ebbs and flows and ups and downs of a hockey sport, who’re the gamers that have confirmed to have the ability to excel in these conditions and calm the waters?”
Hockey Canada hasn’t introduced the group’s management group but. It might be surprising the captain is not Crosby, who authored probably the most memorable moments in Canadian hockey historical past by scoring the sport winner for the boys’s group on the 2010 Olympics.
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