Today I am going to take a crack at guessing each team of the four nations face-off with exact rosters of 23. The NHL has some other great players from other countries like Germany, Czechia, Russia, etc; however, they are dipping their toe back into hockey best on best with this four nation tournament. In this tournament we will have Canada, the United States, Sweden, and Finland facing off to see which country has bragging rights heading into the Olympics. After I predict each roster I will give a synapses of a few choices I made. At the very end, I will give you my winning favorite, as well as my favorite sleeper team. I will also give some long-shot MVP bets, assuming they have that award at the end of the tournament. Remember, we are building a hockey team here, not an all-star team. Certain roles need filled in order to be successful. It’s like coach Herb Brooks said “I’m not looking for the best players, I’m looking for the right ones”. Now, let’s see how close I get to picking these actual rosters that will be announced on December 4th.
Team USA (prediction):
Jack Hughes – Auston Matthews – Clayton Keller
Matthew Tkachuk – Jack Eichel – Brady Tkachuk
Jake Guentzel – Dylan Larkin – Kyle Connor
Tage Thompson – J.T. Miller – Jason Robertson
Jaccob Slavin – Adam Fox
Quinn Hughes – Charlie McAvoy
Zach Werenski – Seth Jones
Goalies: Connor Hellebuyck – Jake Oettinger – Jeremy Swayman
Extras: Vincent Trocheck – Jake Sanderson
Synopsis: The USA may be the betting favorite to win this tournament because they have the best goalie on the planet on this roster. We will have to see how the odds stack up, but I have a solid guess that I will not like their odds to win. There are big decisions to make on this roster as I have Matt Boldy, Cole Caufield, and Alex Tuch all missing this team, as well as Brock Faber on defense. I picked Seth Jones to make this team because the rest of the defensemen are kind of no-brainers, and Seth Jones both has chemistry with Zach Werenski and is used to shutting down top players. We are choosing experience and familiarity over talent here. I moved Jack Hughes over to the wing with Matthews as well. I think the USA has as good of a chance as any to win it all, but it will come down to their odds.
Aug 20, 2022; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Team Canada forward Connor Bedard (16) carries the World Jr. Hockey Championship trophy after Team Canada defeated Team Finland in overtime in the championship game during the IIHF U20 Ice Hockey World Championship at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Perry Nelson-USA TODAY Sports
Team Canada (prediction):
Nathan Mackinnon – Connor McDavid – Mitch Marner
Connor Bedard – Sidney Crosby – Sam Reinhart
Mathew Barzal – Brayden Point – Travis Konecny
Brad Marchand – Robert Thomas – Jordan Kyrou
Devon Toews – Cale Makar
Josh Morrissey – Noah Dobson
Shea Theodore – Alex Pietrangelo
Goalies: Jordan Binnington – Anthony Stolarz – Adin Hill
Extras: Tom Wilson – Mackenzie Weegar
Synopsis: My favorite to win the tournament regardless of how hot and heavy everyone is to pick Hellebuyck and team USA. Between Hill and Binnington who both have Stanley Cup Finals experience, or the white hot Anthony Stolarz, only one goalie can tend the goal. They will be serviceable enough in my eyes. This roster up and down the lineup is unfair, and they have great chemistry between their top 6 defensemen. I left Nick Suzuki, Mark Scheifele, Zach Hyman, Morgan Rielly, and Evan Bouchard off of this team.
Team Sweden (prediction):
Jesper Bratt – Elias Pettersson – Filip Forsberg
Adrian Kempe – Joel Eriksson Ek – William Nylander
Lucas Raymond – Elias Lindholm – Mika Zibanejad
William Eklund – William Karlsson – Gustav Nyquist
Victor Hedman – Rasmus Andersson
Rasmus Dahlin – Gustav Forsling
Mattias Ekholm – Erik Karlsson
Goalies: Jacob Markstrom – Filip Gustavsson – Linus Ullmark
Extras: Jonas Brodin – Leo Carlsson
Synopsis: This is my favorite long-shot pick of the tournament. Their top line is very talented, and their entire line-up is deep and experienced. Their defense can stack up with both the USA and Canada, and they have a slew of good goalies to decide between. Depending on their odds, they may be the bet that I make to win this tournament. I don’t think Leo Carlsson is ready to take this leap, but I think Sweden gets him in the door, and gets him practicing with their nation’s best players. The ceiling is limitless for Leo Carlsson, I love watching him skate.
Oct 22, 2022; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators left wing Filip Forsberg (9) shoots the puck during the first period against the Philadelphia Flyers at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
Team Finland (predictions):
Mikael Granlund – Aleksander Barkov – Mikko Rantanen
Teuvo Teravainen – Sebastian Aho – Patrik Laine
Artturi Lehkonen – Roope Hintz – Anton Lundell
Matias Maccelli – Jesperi Kotkaneimi – Erik Haula
Miro Heiskanen – Henri Jokiharju
Esa Lindell – Juuso Valimaki
Niko Mikkola – Olli Maatta
Goalies: Juuse Saros – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen – Joonas Korpisalo
Extras: Eeli Tolvanen – Rasmus Ristolainen
Synopsis: This team’s top six forwards are awesome and very fun, and Juuse Saros could steal them the tournament. That would be their path to victory; although, I’m not seeing it. With the forward firepower in this tournament, this defense cannot stack up. If they somehow miraculously pull this off then Saros stood on his head, and Heiskanen played 30 minutes a game. In this prediction I have Aho reuniting with Teravainen on that second line which would be very fun. I also have Patrik Laine being healthy enough to play and contribute at this time. Finland is always very structured and surprisingly competitive in international competitions.
Final Thoughts: I think Canada ultimately wins this tournament. The USA will be fun to watch and I think that long term they could become the dominant nation in the world in regards to hockey. Sweden is my long-shot pick, and I love their entire team from top to bottom. It all depends on the odds here. My MVP’s from each team if they ended up winning the tournament would be: Connor Hellebuyck from team USA, Cale Makar from team Canada, Filip Forsberg from team Sweden, and Miro Heiskanen from team Finland. Those are my predictions for the final rosters and winners form this tournament. Let me know your guys’ thoughts! This will be very fun to watch!