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Wayne Gretzky makes his feelings known about Canada's chances against USA at 4 Nations Face-Off

Modified Dec 10, 2024 11:40 GMT

Wayne Gretzky shared his thoughts on Canada's chances against the USA at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off tournament. The Great One believes Canada has assembled a formidable roster that can go toe-to-toe with the Americans.

“I will say this: The Americans are a very good team and maybe I’m biased, but I think the Canadians match up really well against the Americans,” Gretzky said on Monday to TNT Sports.

Canada's roster features superstars like Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brad Marchand, Connor McDavid and Brayden Point. They will open the tournament on February 12th against Sweden in Montreal. Three days later, they will take on the USA at the Bell Centre.

The American squad is led by Auston Matthews, Brady Tkachuk and the Hughes brothers, Quinn and Jack. They also boast forwards like Jake Guentzel and depth throughout their lineup.

After facing the US, Canada will head to Boston for the second half of the tournament. They will battle Finland on February 17th before the top two teams meet in the championship game on February 20th at TD Garden.

Wayne Gretzky believes playing in Montreal will give Canada an extra boost against the US.

"It's going to be tremendous hockey. I'm not sure who's going to win, but I'm just saying as a Canadian, I think our team matches up really good against the Americans," he reiterated.

Gretzky believes his home country has assembled a squad capable of defeating the talented Team USA.

Wayne Gretzky's take on Canada's lineup

Wayne Gretzky understands the importance of chemistry and getting the best players on the ice. He remembered what it was like in 1981 at age of 19, he got to play alongside greats like Guy Lafleur and Gilbert Perreault. He admitted that it was quite daunting initially but pointed out that once he began to play with those legends, they just clicked.

Gretzky made a similar observation about playing with Mario Lemieux in 1987.

“I can remember training camp in '87, Mario and I didn’t play much together at the beginning. (Coach) Mike (Keenan) didn’t put us together until near the end, and part of his reason was Mario was 21 years old at the time and he didn’t want to make him too nervous at the beginning."

"So he waited a few games just to get his feet wet and get him comfortable, and when he put him there he was our best player. He fit in like a glove.” Wayne Gretzky added.

Gretzky believes the best players should play together to maximize talent. He is eager to see how Canada's lineup comes together and watches to see the team's superstars create chemistry.