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Hockey analysts share their picks for captains at 4 Nations Face-Off

Modified Dec 07, 2024 04:49 GMT

The upcoming 2025 4 Nations Face-off scheduled to be held in February is all the rage right now in hockey circles.

Ever since the final roster announcement on Wednesday, fans and experts have been fiercely discussing every aspect of the teams. Now, four hockey analysts have come up with their captain picks at the 4 Nations Face-Off.

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On being asked by Sportsnet who they think will captain each team, NHL experts Elliotte Friedman, David Amber, Luke Gazdik and Sam Cosentino shared their captain picks for each team of the 4 Nations Face-Off international tournament to be played between Canada, USA, Sweden and Finland.

In line with expectations, each analyst unhesitatingly picked Sidney Crosby to lead Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off. Cosentino said:

"Sidney Crosby, of course. Would be captain for Canada".

While the picks for Team USA's captain were slightly divided with David Amber and Sam Cosentino going with Vancouver Canucks captain Quinn Hughes to lead Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Elliotte Friedman and Luke Gazdik chose Florida Panthers captain Matthew Tkachuk. Friedman said:

"The US has some Canadian captains Quinn Hughes, Auston Matthews. But I wonder if they surprise us and go with Matthew Tkachuk".

As for Sweden, Friedman and Cosentino chose the Nashville Predators' alternate captain Filip Forsberg. David Amber and Luke Gazdic, on the other hand, picked star defenceman and Tampa Bay Lightning skipper Victor Hedman to lead the Swedish squad.

And finally, for the Finland squad, Amber and Friedman picked Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov, with Friedman emphatically saying:

"Finland, no debate – Barkov".

While Gazdic picked defenceman Miro Heiskanen, Cosentino picked forward and Colorado Avalanche alternate captain Mikko Rantanen to lead the Swedish squad. He added:

"When it comes to the Finnish Team, I'd say their captain would be Mikko Rantanen".

4 Nations Face-Off starts Feb. 12

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Slated for Feb. 12 to 20, the 4 Nations Face-Off will see four hockey superpowers clash for the ultimate supremacy.

Montreal and Boston will serve as the two venues for the tournament, which will be played in a round-robin format with each team getting three games to play and the top two playing the final.