TORONTO — Seth Jarvis yes, Mark Scheifele no?
Travis Sanheim yes, Evan Bouchard no?
Travis Konecny yes, Alexis Lafreniere no?
When it comes to Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off that was announced Wednesday, there are so many questions.
Fortunately, NHL.com has been able to elicit Canada assistant general manager Jim Nill to provide some answers. At least he’ll try to, anyway.
With just over two months remaining until the tournament takes place February 12-20 in Montreal and Boston, Nill took time after the roster reveal to break down some of the more intriguing aspects of Team Canada.
First off, what was the most difficult aspect of putting this team together with so many players to choose from?
“Leaving players off who deserved to be there. There were really tough decisions right down to the end, the last four or five forwards, the last handful of defensemen, they all deserve to be here. That’s the toughest part. There are so many good players that, as of now, aren’t on the roster. But there’s a long way to go from December to February. I hope there are no injuries, but if there are, we know we have some great players who are going to deserve to be there.”
Who are some of the candidates who didn’t make it but who caught your eye, those guys who barely were edged out?
“Mark Scheifele (Winnipeg Jets) has had a great start. He’s been unbelievable. Zach Hyman (Edmonton Oilers). Matt Duchene (Dallas Stars) has had a great year. On the back end, MacKenzie Weegar (Calgary Flames), Evan Bouchard (Oilers). The hardest part is that we’re making decisions based on guys in October and November, and the tournament’s not until February. I mean, Scheifele’s resume is unbelievable, just like Hyman’s. But in the end, we had to go from there. It was tough.”
Let’s go from guys who didn’t make it to those who might be considered surprises and/or played their way on the team the past two months, guys who we wouldn’t necessarily be talking about a year ago. First off, your impressions of Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim?
“When we started watching him, he just started getting better and better, and we really started to focus on him. We’re talking about a guy who’s 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5, who can really skate. He can play both sides, too. He played left side and right side, and he's been playing 25 to 30 minutes every night, in all situations, PK, power play. So, his game has really come on. Like I said, probably when we started the process he wasn't really high on the list, but he put himself on the team. So, some guys put themselves on the team and some guys didn't. He's one of the guys who put himself on the team.”
Flyers forward Travis Konecny?
“He’s got a good resume. You go back through the years, he hasn't been on a winning team the last few years, but he's participated in World Juniors and then World Championships. He has some history there, and he's the same thing. He’s earned the right to be on the team with his play over these two months.”
Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis?
“Just a good hockey player. A lot of people probably don't know him well. He's a younger guy playing in Carolina, but he is a very good hockey player. He's a little bit like Konecny, high energy, high skilled. He's one of the up-and-coming stars, I believe, for Canada over the next five, six years.”
And finally, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who’s having a great season and is no stranger to playing for Team Canada coach Jon Cooper of the Lightning?
“Another guy that probably a lot of people don't notice because he’s in Tampa, but he's looking at his stats over the last few years, the way he plays a game. His versatility, too. A lot of these guys we’re talking about, their versatility came into play. They can play either wing. They're skilled enough to play with high-end players, and they can also play in roles like PK, but they can also play the power play, and that comes in big in a tournament like this. Versatility is a key. They can play off wings, which is really important.”
How important is familiarity among players on the roster, given it’s a short tournament with virtually no practice time? For example, you have three Lightning forwards in Hagel, Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli; a pair of Colorado defensemen in Cale Makar and Devon Toews; and a pair of Florida Panther forwards in Sam Bennett and Sam Reinhart; and a pair of Vegas Golden Knight defensemen in Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore.
“It’s a factor any time you’re building a team. But in the short term, some of these players are going to be playing for their NHL teams Sunday, practice with us on Monday, then play a tournament game Tuesday. So, it's a short tournament, not like the Olympics where you can have a week to 10 days to practice. So, familiarity is very important, and versatility is important. If you look at the resume those players, they're all winners. You're talking guys in Tampa, guys in Florida, guys in Colorado, these guys not only are good players, but they've shown that they're winners. Good players and winners kind of go hand in hand.”
For better or worse, your goalies have been hot topics of conversation as you well know. Why Jordan Binnington (St. Louis Blues), Adin Hill (Vegas Golden Knights) and Sam Montembeault (Montreal Canadiens)?
“We went back to resumes. Jordan, he's won a Stanley Cup, he's won a lot of games. As GM of Dallas, I’ve seen him a lot because we've been playing St Louis a lot because they’re in our division. I've seen him plenty. He's a good goalie. Beat us many times. So, very comfortable with him. He's got pedigree. He's very confident in how he plays. And then Adin Hill, he’s been the same way in Vegas. He's won a Stanley Cup. He's played under high pressure. He's played a lot of playoff games. Those things all are big for goalies, and those two guys have done it. And then Montembeault is kind of the younger, less experienced guy who performed well for Canada at the World Championships. He's won the World Championships. And we just thought it would be good to get this experience for a younger player that is in a tough situation in Montreal. He’s battled every night, and he’s had success with Canada before.”
Finally, when you look at the roster as a whole, how would you describe your team?
“Every team has high end players, but you're talking about some generational players here. You know who they are. What’s exciting with this tournament is you've got players, because of the way the world's been the last six, seven years, you know, with COVID and all, who never have had a chance to play on this stage for their country. I'm talking about the McDavids, these types of guys, who can go on the biggest stage and play for their country. And you're talking high-end players. These are some of the best players in the world, and the other countries have them too, and that's what's going to make this such an intriguing tournament, because the skill level will be just off the charts, the speed is off the charts, and it's going to be exciting to see which team comes together the quickest. So, let’s just drop the puck and let them decide.”
