Sweden 🇸🇪/Finland 🇫🇮 | Canada 🇨🇦 | United States 🇺🇸 (Dec. 26)
With a four-team, NHL-sanctioned international hockey tournament expected to take place in February 2025, theScore is choosing rosters for all of the nations set to partake.
For Canada and the USA, there are a lot of quality players to choose from. Opinions on who should make the rosters vary depending on who you ask, so we tasked five members of our hockey editorial team - Kayla Douglas, Josh Gold-Smith, Sean O'Leary, John Matisz, and Josh Wegman - with selecting their own squads.
Below, we dive into each editor's Team Canada and the most pressing question surrounding their roster:
Kayla Douglas 👇
Biggest question: Why take Huberdeau and have him so high in the lineup given his struggles since leaving Florida?
Let's talk about the underwhelming elephant in the room.
Look, everyone is aware of how bad Huberdeau has been since joining the Calgary Flames. There have been zero flashes of the guy who put up 115 points in 2021-22. But there's no way that skilled, talented player is just … gone. A Team Canada nod could be exactly what Huberdeau needs to revive his career. Or, maybe it'd be crazy to continue expecting a different result from the slumping winger.
Team Canada's brass would owe Zach Hyman a handwritten apology if Huberdeau falls flat on his face, though. - Douglas
Josh Gold-Smith 👇
Biggest question: As the only editor who didn't have Bedard on the top line, why isn't he among your top-12 forwards?
Slotting Bedard in as the 13th forward wasn't an indictment of him as a player. There's no doubt the Chicago Blackhawks phenom belongs on this team now and when it's actually constructed. He's been a quick study in the NHL, and he may ascend to true superstardom by 2025. Plus, the idea of Bedard playing alongside McDavid is admittedly tantalizing.
The concern here is mainly not wanting to play him - or any of Canada's more experienced centers - out of position. Bedard might be just fine playing on the right wing, especially with McDavid down the middle. But it seems more prudent to have the natural wingers remain in those spots.
It's entirely conceivable Bedard will leapfrog many of his Canadian peers in terms of impact by the time this tournament rolls around. But until that happens, he should be willing to accept that others have simply earned more prominent roles for the time being. - Gold-Smith
John Matisz 👇
Biggest question: This team is significantly younger than the others. What makes you confident players like Byfield, Fantilli, and Power will be ready for this stage?
I find we generally underestimate how quickly players in their early 20s can level up from impact NHLer to fringe star, fringe star to legitimate star, etc.
Byfield, currently 21, will be in the middle of his fourth season when the tournament rolls around. Power, 21, will be in the middle of his third. Fantilli, 19 but exceptionally mature physically and mentally, will be a sophomore.
Let's face it, top-three NHL picks are a special breed. Byfield, Power, and Fantilli are all poised on and off the ice. Each of them plays a modern style mixing power (no pun intended) with finesse. They're developing by the day.
Plus, it's not as if I picked an entirely youthful team: Crosby will be 37 in February 2025. Marchand will be 36, Doughty 35, Stamkos 34, and so on. - Matisz
Sean O'Leary 👇
Biggest question: As the only editor to take Nugent-Hopkins, why is he featured in a prominent role but not on a line with either of his Oiler teammates?
Left wing was the most difficult position to find world-class talent when constructing Canada's hypothetical roster, so I dipped into their pool of centers. I felt Nugent-Hopkins deserved a look based on his production over the past couple of seasons. However, Hyman is a better fit with McDavid, and likewise for the rest of the left wing-center combinations I chose. I think Nugent-Hopkins is the most dispensable forward on my roster, but his smarts and versatility made him pretty easy to plug in.
An all-Oilers top line certainly crossed my mind, but I couldn't pass up a McDavid-Bedard pairing. - O'Leary
Josh Wegman 👇
Biggest question: With five sets of teammates playing together, was familiarity prioritized over taking the best players available?
Everyone on this team is deserving as individuals (there's no Chris Kunitz here). However, relying on familiarity is logical if the fit is right. In a short tournament with little preparation time, instant chemistry will be key.
Up front, Hyman is the ultimate workhorse to complement star players. Cirelli doesn't dazzle offensively, but the perennial Selke candidate has a knack for delivering in big moments and will help the penalty kill. Konecny and Couturier are a great two-way combo, too. Even though they aren't NHL teammates, MacKinnon, Crosby, and Marchand all train together during the summers (and the latter two have shined on the international stage together before). That Nova Scotian trio could be the tournament's best line.
On defense, Toews and Makar have been arguably the NHL's best pairing over the last few seasons. Theodore and Pietrangelo aren't regular partners in Vegas, but placing them together still made sense. - Wegman
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