Zizing ‘Em Up: Unsung heroes shined at 4 Nations Face-Off

NHL.com staff writer Mike Zeisberger has been covering the NHL regularly since 1999. Each Monday he will use his extensive network of hockey contacts for his weekly notes column, "Zizing 'Em Up.”

TORONTO -- Were you not entertained?

The 4 Nations Face-Off brought the type of thrills and spills, drama and storylines, euphoria and heartbreak that produced record television ratings on both sides of the border and memories that won’t soon be forgotten. In the end, 16.1 million people watched the championship game in North America.

Here’s a look back and ahead at some of the residual effects of a tournament that has the entire sports world talking, not just the hockey community.

Unsung heroes

Canada and the United States put on a championship game for the ages on Thursday. Yes, it was fitting that Connor McDavid, the world’s most talented player, was the hero with his overtime goal that gave Canada a 3-2 victory. But the reality is, the U.S. could have easily come out on top if not for the heroics of goalie Jordan Binnington.

And who can forget the impact of Americans Matthew and Brady Tkachuk, who laid it all on the line on every single shift?

In the end, the sport of hockey was the big winner.

That being said, here’s a look at some of the unsung heroes who stood out, including those whose stats didn’t reflect how effective they were.

-- Jaccob Slavin, United States: If coaches want to teach their players the epitome of a shutdown defenseman, just show video of the Carolina Hurricanes blue liner from this tournament. Assigned to smother the elite forwards in the sport, his positioning and stickwork were outstanding. Playing in the small media market of Raleigh means he doesn’t always get the publicity worthy of his talents. He should now.

-- Brock Faber, United States: The Americans did not give up more than two goals in regulation in any of their four games in the tournament. Goaltending played a big role in that, but so too did a defense that consistently kept opposing shooters to the outside. Enter Faber, the Minnesota Wild defenseman who looks like Clark Kent but played like Superman at times in this tournament. In just his second season in the NHL, he teamed up with Slavin to form the top pairing for the U.S. by the time the event reached its apex.

-- Matt Boldy, United States: Faber’s teammate with the Wild had three points (one goal, two assists) in four games and was dangerous throughout. The 23-year-old led the 2024 IIHF World Championship with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) and is quickly proving he embraces being on the international stage.

-- Thomas Harley, Canada: The Dallas Stars defenseman had skated just twice on his own before being called in to join Canada on an emergency basis. With Canada already missing Shea Theodore, who was knocked out of the tournament with an upper-body injury sustained in the opener against Sweden, Harley stepped into the lineup for Canada in a 3-1 round-robin loss against the U.S. when Cale Makar couldn’t play due to illness. Then, when Josh Morrissey was ruled out of the title game, also due to illness, Harley came in again and more than held his own, assisting on Nathan MacKinnon’s opening goal of the game.

-- Brandon Hagel, Canada: The Tampa Bay Lightning forward coupled with teammate Anthony Cirelli to form Canada’s top checking duo in the tournament and averaged 29:16 of ice time per game. His chirping of the Tkachuk brothers, claiming the Canadians didn’t need a group chat like the Americans to get motivated, showed an off-ice edge few knew he had.

-- Sam Bennett, Canada: The Florida Panthers forward scored Canada’s second goal, went hard to the net all night and may have been Canada’s best player in the final … until McDavid did McDavid things.

-- Samuel Ersson, Sweden: The Philadelphia Flyers goaltender started against the U.S. when Linus Ullmark was banged up and was outstanding in a 2-1 victory, making 32 saves. Not bad for someone who’d been a healthy scratch in the first two games.

-- Joel Eriksson Ek, Sweden: Sweden coach Sam Hallam couldn’t stop raving about the Wild forward, who was the choice to take key defensive zone face-offs and was the team’s top net-front presence, including on the power play. In three games he has two points (one goal, one assist) and was plus-4.

-- Mikael Granlund, Finland: The Dallas Stars forward tied for fourth in tournament scoring with four points (three goals, one assist), outscoring bigger names on his team like Sebastian Aho, Mikko Rantanen and Roope Hintz. His overtime winner against Sweden proved to be the highlight of Finland’s tournament.

-- Henri Jokiharju, Finland: The Buffalo Sabres defenseman was one of the steadier performers on the Finnish blue line and chipped in with a goal. Keep in mind that he was one of Finland’s last-minute injury replacements for Miro Heiskanen, Rasmus Ristolainen and Jani Hakanpaa.

ITALY BOUND?

A look at players who could be ticketed for the 2026 Olympics next February after missing the 4 Nations Face-Off due to injury or simply not being picked.

-- Quinn Hughes, United States: The Vancouver Canucks captain, who missed the tournament because of being banged up, is the defending Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman and was one of the first six players picked to represent the U.S. last June. A no-brainer for the Milano Cortina Games.

-- Tage Thompson, United States: Why he was passed over is head-scratching. The Buffalo Sabres forward has 104 goals in his past 198 games.

-- Cole Caufield, United States: The Montreal Canadiens forward has four seasons of at least 23 goals and 10 power-play goals.

-- Jason Robertson, United States: A slow start to his season probably helped keep the Dallas Stars forward off the U.S. team. But how can you ignore 139 goals over the past three-plus seasons?

-- Clayton Keller, United States: The Utah captain has 287 points in his past 284 games and, at 26 years old, is only now entering the prime of his career.

-- Alex DeBrincat, United States: The forward leads the Detroit Red Wings with 26 goals and would be an ideal linemate with Red Wings teammate Dylan Larkin.

-- Mark Scheifele, Canada: The Winnipeg Jets forward admits being passed over for the 4 Nations roster is motivation to make the Olympic team. Putting up 64 points (31 goals, 33 assists) in 57 games this season shows that he is walking the walk after talking the talk.

-- Logan Thompson, Canada: Up until Binnington’s heroics, critics claimed Thompson was Canada’s best goalie and should have been selected. This much is certain: with a 25-2-5 record with the Washington Capitals this season, he’s making a great case for himself to be in Italy.

-- Tom Wilson, Canada: Yes, there is no fighting at the Olympics. Still, odds are that Canada will have to face the Tkachuk brothers and the U.S. at some point, and who better to stand up to them than the Capitals forward? His 26 goals this season show he has some hustle to go along with that muscle.

-- Alex Pietrangelo, Canada: The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman pulled out of the tournament a couple of weeks prior to the event due to injury. But his pedigree is unquestioned, and he is the ideal defense partner for Vegas teammate Shea Theodore.

-- Connor Bedard, Macklin Celebrini, Canada: Bedard was selected No. 1 by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2023 NHL Draft. Celebrini went first in 2024 courtesy of the San Jose Sharks. They are the next generation of Canadian hockey. At the time of the Italy Olympics, Bedard will be 20, Celebrini 19. Will they be ready?

-- John Tavares, Steven Stamkos, Canada: The Toronto Maple Leafs center and Nashville Predators sniper were minor hockey teammates and are still producing at an impressive level. But Tavares will be 35 and Stamkos 36 when the Olympics roll around. Has their time passed?

-- Alexis Lafreniere, Canada: The New York Rangers forward has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his first 10 games and seemed to be a leading candidate to make the 4 Nations team. But the 23-year-old followed that up with just 22 points in his next 46 games and will have to be far more consistent if he wants an invite to Italy.

-- Jacob Markstrom, Sweden: The New Jersey Devils goalie likely would have been the Sweden starter had he not sustained a knee injury against the Boston Bruins last month.

-- William Karlsson, Sweden: The Vegas Golden Knights forward missed the 4 Nations with an upper-body injury. His presence would add some much-needed stability up the middle for Sweden.

-- Hampus Lindholm, Sweden: A knee injury kept the Boston Bruins defenseman out of the 4 Nations Face-Off. When healthy, he’s about as steady as you’ll find.

-- Mikael Backlund, Sweden: The Calgary Flames captain will be 36 when the Olympics kick off next year, so age will be a factor. At the same time, he captained Sweden to gold at the 2018 IIHF World Championship and would bring a veteran presence to the fourth line.

-- Gabriel Landeskog, Sweden: The Colorado Avalanche forward would be a shoo-in if healthy. But he hasn’t played since Colorado won the Stanley Cup in June 2022 because of a knee injury and his future remains cloudy.

-- Miro Heiskanen, Finland: No player was missed more by their 4 Nations team than the Dallas Stars defenseman, who is out with a knee injury. He’s a Norris Trophy-quality player would is vital on an already-thin Finnish blue line.

-- Rasmus Ristolainen, Finland: The Philadelphia Flyers defenseman, who missed the tournament with an upper-body injury, is 6-foot-4, 208 pounds and would bring a physical presence to the Finnish blue line.

QUOTE/UNQUOTE

“I’m on the plane, flying out west … Every single TV had the hockey game on.” -- ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith on the U.S-Canada final on Thursday

“Spectacular! … Whoever came up with the idea of the 4 Nations Face-Off deserves a massive raise … [The players] put it all out there and for that I say thank you. It means that much to you. Now I’m invested.”
-- Rich Eisen, host of the syndicated “Rich Eisen Show”

THE LAST WORD

As the focus of players and coaches turns away from the 4 Nations Face-Off and toward the stretch run to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, there will be one special reunion left this upcoming week to remember the special tournament.

On Tuesday night at Amalie Arena in Tampa (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN1), McDavid’s Edmonton Oilers will visit Jon Cooper and the Tampa Bay Lightning. It will be a chance for McDavid, Canada’s 4 Nations hero, to match up against Cooper, the Canadian coach, as their respective teams do battle.

Theirs will always be a special relationship dating back to Thursday.

With the championship game between Canada and the U.S. tied 2-2 in overtime Thursday, Cooper thought his team was being too fancy.

“Somebody be selfish and shoot it in the net,” Cooper yelled at his bench.

McDavid did exactly that and scored on the very next shift.

Coach asked. Player answered.

Game over.

Tournament over.

And with that, they’ll forever be entwined in hockey history.

Sure, friends will become foes again Tuesday.

But for Cooper and McDavid, their 4 Nations moment is one they’ll share forever.