The 4 Nations Face-Off will take place from Feb. 12-20, and the rosters will be announced in full on Dec. 4. Each of the United States, Canada, Sweden and Finland will be rosters full of NHL stars.
But arguably the best story out of the previous best-on-best tourney with NHL players — the 2016 World Cup of Hockey — was Team North America, a collection of the best players under the age of 24 from the U.S. and Canada. The team featured a who’s who of future NHL superstars, such as Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews and Connor Hellebuyck.
Unfortunately, there will be no similar team of young stars at the 4 Nations Face-Off, but that does not prevent us from projecting what the team might have looked like using my model.
As a reminder: To be eligible for Team North America, the player must be under the age of 24 on the first day of the tournament. Cole Caufield and Connor McMichael, for example, are ineligible because they turn 24 in January 2025.