Three Stars from the 4 Nations Face-Off Tournament
The 4 Nations Face-Off is now finished and the NHL did what it failed to do for so many years: grow the game. The tournament which was composed of NHL players from the countries of Canada, Finland, USA, and Sweden brought about a plethora of new eyeballs onto the sport. Attention for the NHL has been high with the conclusion of the NFL season and a lulling point of the NBA season and MLB’s Spring Training just starting. After an exhilarating tournament, Canada took home the inaugural championship by defeating the USA in an overtime thriller by a score of 3-2. With so many amazing players who competed at a high level, here’s a list of the three stars from the tournament.
Third Star: Brady Tkachuk
The only Team USA skater to grace this list is a pure leader and might be on watch for a “C” or an “A” when teams are selected for the 2026 Winter Olympics. Brady Tkachuk’s numbers don’t light up the stat sheet like many others; 12 players finished the tournament with a point per game while the former Boston University Terrier finished just shy of that mark. Heck, even his own teammate Zach Werenski had twice as many points as him. Still, Tkachuk was an absolute force to be reckoned with on the ice, racking up 22 hits, an average of five and a half per game despite playing just five shifts against Sweden, while also being an excellent offensive weapon. His three goals show why he’s one of the best two-way forwards in the league. According to MoneyPuck, no one on Team USA had a higher expected goal metric than Tkachuk with his 2.215 in the tournament, beating out his brother Matthew Tkachuk’s cumulative expected goals of 2.202. Brady’s toughness exemplified Team USA’s philosophy this tournament and is the main reason that they defeated Canada in the round-robin and made it to overtime in the final game.
Second Star: Connor Hellebuyck
Connor Hellebuyck proved that he’s the best goalie in the world with his performance in the tournament. He was a brick wall in net, giving up just five goals in three games. The Commerce, Michigan native proved to be head and shoulders above the competition, posting a 2-0-1 record with a .932 save percentage, 1.59 goals-against average, and 4.59 goals-saved above average. In a best-on-best tournament, it’s hard to get better than that, especially given the fact that he played against Team Canada in two of his three starts. When there’s such a significant disparity of play in a position as difficult as a goaltender, it would be difficult to leave Hellebuyck off this list. He’ll now look to seek vengeance against Canada in Italy next year with the rest of his American teammates.
First Star: Connor McDavid
It would have been impossible to give the first star to anyone else. Connor McDavid scored the championship-winning goal in overtime to secure Canada’s place as best in the world. Poetically, the best player in the world lit the lamp, adding to his Hall of Fame-worthy résumé with an International Championship game-winning goal. Though he surely would’ve loved to win the Game Seven back in June to secure his first Stanley Cup, this accolade is nothing to scoff at. The 28-year-old forward was the only one in the tournament to finish with multiple goals and assists as well. McDavid’s legacy continues, but for now, he’ll look to build on the great season that the Oilers are having while sitting in first place in the Pacific Division.
