International Hockey Storylines That Have Been Revived

The NHL's Four Nation Faceoff begins today at 8:00 Eastern with a game featuring Canada vs. Sweden. This small tournament features all the best players from Canada, the USA, Sweden, and Finland, so it is the first "best-on-best" men's hockey tournament since the 2014 Olympics in Sochi. The fact that it's been 11 years is incredibly sad. Technically there was the 2016 World Cup of Hockey as well, but I barely count that considering there were two teams that weren't even countries—sorry, but that's just a gimmick. The NHL knows this is a temporary style of tournament too, but they should be back in the Olympics in 2026 and 2030. Furthermore, they have announced plans to have a World Cup of Hockey in 2028 and every four years after that. So there will be an international tournament every two years, as it should be.

Although there are only four teams featured in this tournament and its sudden creation isn't quite the same as the Olympics, it's still international hockey with the best players in the world, and I, for one, have been craving that for years. I re-watched the 2010 Gold medal game on YouTube, and I was instantly transported back to watching that game here in my hometown of Vancouver. The atmosphere was electric, and everyone you knew was into it, whether they liked hockey or not. I'm not saying that the Four Nations tournament will have that effect, but getting back on track with international hockey is huge for the sport.

Over the last 11 years, we've missed so much in terms of storylines and big moments, and I wanted to talk about some great things we now get to follow for this tournament and over the next several years as the NHL heads back to the Olympics in 2026 and to a World Cup of Hockey in 2028.

McDavid vs. Matthews

These are two of the best players in the world, and neither of them have been able to represent their countries on the world stage against all the other best players. Connor McDavid is 28 and Auston Matthews is 27—they're in the prime of their careers and they should be showcased as much as possible on the biggest stage. They will finally get a chance to play against each other on Saturday as Canada faces the USA and I can't wait. The two of them played on the same team as the U23 team in the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, which made a farce of what international hockey is supposed to be. Neat idea, but not what the tournament should be for.

Tkachuk and Hughes Brothers Together

Brady and Matthew Tkachuk. Jack and Quinn Hughes. There's Luke Hughes as well, who is great in his own right, but not quite good enough to crack a stacked USA roster. These two sets of brothers are not only in the NHL but they're all good enough to be relied upon as the probable favourites of this tournament. It's unfortunate that Quinn will have to skip this tournament due to an injury, but we'll have him in future ones barring other injuries.

The Hughes brothers have the chance to be one of the best trio of brothers of all-time, and the Tkachuks continue the legacy of their father Keith, with Matthew already looking better than him. There are family connections all over the NHL, but it's not often that you get to see elite brother combinations like these, and you can see how badly they want to play with each other.

Goalies: American Dominance and Canada's Weak Spot

There's something cruel about this being the top-5 goalies ranked by save percentage and none of them being picked by Team Canada:

It's been years since Canada had reliable goaltending at the junior and professional levels. In the early 2010s, Roberto Luongo, Martin Brodeur, Carey Price, and Marc-Andre Fleury headlined a solid group of goaltenders who led Canada to back-to-back gold medals. But since then, they've been unable to develop any true stars. Sure, goalies like Jordan Binnington, Stuart Skinner, Logan Thompson, Cam Talbot, and others have looked great at times, but when you compare it to other nations, it's a major weak spot.

In the US on the other hand, they have too many goalies to know what to do with. Connor Hellebuyck, Jeremy Swayman, and Jake Oettinger are the three that will be in the tournament, plus Thatcher Demko, Dustin Wolf, Joey Daccord, Anthony Stolarz, Joseph Woll, John Gibson, and legend Jonathan Quick add to the ridiculous list of solid options for them. Some of those names later on wouldn't be great starting options, but I would take most of them over any of Jordan Binnington, Adin Hill, and Sam Montembault. It's incredible how far USA Hockey has come and how little Canada has progressed with goaltending.

Swedish Redemption

For a supposed hockey-crazed nation that has produced 427 NHLers (3rd in the world), you would think they have more international success. Their biggest whiffs have come at the World Juniors, where they have just two gold medals in 49 years with a whopping twelve losses in the finals. That lack of success isn't quite as bad at the professional level, but they still only have two Olympic golds (1994 and 2006), with Canada and Russia having nine, and the USA also having two. They never won any of the three World Cups of Hockey, and in the annual World Championships, they have done a little better with 11 championships.

However, that's also with 19 silvers, so they've still failed so many times in the big moments. Furthermore, that's only fourth in gold medals behind Canada with 28, Russia with 27, and Czechia with 13. When you combine all of those finals appearances together, that's a record of 15-34. Surely this powerhouse nation can finally show they're deserving of success.

Finland Punching Above Its Weight

Conversely, Finland has a population of about 5.58 million people, about half of Sweden's 10.54 million. So mathematically, it should be much more challenging to do well on the world stage. There have only been 270 Finns to make the NHL compared to Sweden's 427, yet they have been much more successful over the last few decades. They've been most successful in the World Juniors with five golds, with three of those coming between 2014-2019, and two silvers coming in 2022 and 2025.

They also have one Olympic gold, which was in 2022 without NHLers. Then in the World Championships, they have four golds, with the most recent ones coming in 2011, 2019, and 2022 (and three silvers in that period as well). They did not make the final in any three of the World Cups of Hockey, but they have been punching above their weight in the 2010s and 2020s. They have seven golds since 2011 in these various tournaments, while Sweden has just four. Keeping that rivalry alive would be great for international hockey.

Smaller Nations Making a Name for Themselves

We won't be able to see this in the Four Nations Faceoff of course, but I can't wait to see nations like Germany, Switzerland, Slovakia, etc. showcase their talent. Germany actually has some great players with Leon Draisaitl, Tim Stützle, Moritz Seider, and JJ Peterka, as does Switzerland with Roman Josi, Kevin Fiala, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Nino Niederreiter, and others. Slovakia is up and coming with Juraj Slafkovsky, Simon Nemec, and Samuel Honzek, plus other smaller nations like Latvia, Austria, Norway, etc. are developing more NHLers over the years.

These teams aren't legitimate contenders to win a major tournament, but they can absolutely win some games and make things interesting. Don't forget, Switzerland shocked Canada 2-0 in the 2006 Olympics, and they're much better than they were back then. These players (plus non-NHLers playing in Europe) would love to get a chance to represent their countries and I love seeing them become more competitive over the years.

Russia: To Be Determined

We all know why Russia (and Belarus) is banned from the IIHF right now, and everybody wants the war with Ukraine to end. I'm not going to pretend to be an expert on the topic, but the fact is that international hockey is at its best if Russia gets to participate. IIHF President Luc Tardif agrees as he hopes they can rejoin as soon as possible. That doesn't mean they should be admitted back no matter what, but if/when things settle down, international hockey can be at its best. I pray for a peaceful ending as soon as possible as too many innocent lives have been lost.

Hockey Nationalism: Actually Caring

These past few weeks, I've become very proud to be a Canadian once again, and I'm sure I'm not alone in that. I love living here and strongly identify with being Canadian. It's far from a perfect place but it's made up of amazing people, places, and geography. I won't be caring about this tournament as much as I would for the Olympics, but it's the first time we can cheer for the best Team Canada has to offer in years.

Hockey doesn't matter at the end of the day, but it's nice to be the best at something, and tournaments like this can be a good unifier for the entire country. Again, the Four Nations Faceoff is not the best, but it's a good launching pad for future Olympics and World Cup of Hockey appearances. I've been starved for international hockey, and I'll take whatever I can get.