Updated Team Canada Projections for 2025 Four Nations Face-Off: November 2004

The first international best-on-best hockey tournament in nearly a decade will take place this February when the Four Nations Cup kicks off with the United States, Canada, Finland and Sweden all competing.

As we continue to get closer to the event, we are going to take periodic looks at how some of the rosters could be constructed based on what is happening during the 2024-25 NHL season.

Here, we will be taking a look at a potential Team Canada roster.

We already know the first six players to be included: Connor McDavid, Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Brayden Point, Brad Marchand and Cale Makar.

Here are the rest of the names we could see making this roster as of November.

First-Line Forwards

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EDMONTON, CANADA NOVEMBER 6: Connor McDavid #97 of the Edmonton Oilers skates against Keegan Kolesar #55 of the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period at Rogers Place on November 6, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Leila Devlin/Getty Images)

Alexis Lafrenière, Connor McDavid and Mitch Marner

We have our first major change from our last prospective roster, with New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafrenière replacing Zach Hyman on the top line.

The thinking before was that Hyman, coming off a 50-goal season and having great chemistry with Connor McDavid, would be a natural fit at the top of this lineup. But the 32-year-old has taken a big step backward this season and hasn't come close to matching his previous totals from the past couple of years.

Lafrenière is finally starting to play like the No. 1 overall pick he is and seems to be on the verge of a true breakout season.

Since the start of last season, including the playoffs, the 23-year-old has been one of the most efficient 5-on-5 goal scorers in the league. Over 650 players have logged at least 500 minutes of 5-on-5 ice time during that time, with Lafrenière ranking 75th out of the group with 0.96 goals per 60 minutes.

He has earned a spot on this team.

McDavid and Marner select themselves.

McDavid is the best offensive player in the world; and even though Marner always has a target on his back for criticism when things go wrong in Toronto, he remains a legitimate top-line player

Second-Line Forwards

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PITTSBURGH, PA - NOVEMBER 02: Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) celebrates his goal during the second period in the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Montreal Canadiens on November 2, 2024, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, PA. (Photo by Jeanine Leech/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Brad Marchand, Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon

This line remains the same as our last update, and it will still be one of the most dominant in the entire tournament.

Crosby has close relationships with both MacKinnon and Marchand, and now he gets a chance to play alongside them.

Marchand can handle the dirty work and defensive responsibilities, while Crosby and MacKinnon can drive the offense.

MacKinnon is a top-five offensive player in the world, while Crosby remains a top-tier player even though he is into his late 30s. This would be a top-line on most teams in the tournament.

Third-Line Forwards

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LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - OCTOBER 26: Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates with teammates after a goal during the third period against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena on October 26, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Zak Krill/NHLI via Getty Images)

Mark Scheifele, Sam Reinhart and Mark Stone

Reinhart and Stone were on this line in our previous projection, and nothing they have done since then has changed their place here.

Reinhart's career has taken off since he arrived in Florida, and he is now one of the most productive two-way players in the league. He is showing his 2023-24 season was no fluke, and through Monday's game, he is already up to 11 goals and 23 points in 15 games.

Stone, meanwhile, looks healthy and is also playing great hockey in Vegas with 21 points in his first 13 games. Together they would be a dominant two-way duo that could control the game with and without the puck.

Scheifele is another new addition to our roster, and he is a well-earned addition given the way he has played for the Winnipeg Jets this season.

Winnipeg is off to its best start in the league—and the best start of any team in NHL history through 15 games—and Scheifele has been a major contributor to that.

If he and the Jets keep playing in the same manner, there is no way management will ignore that when it comes to building this roster.

Fourth-Line Forwards

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CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - NOVEMBER 10: Connor Bedard #98 of the Chicago Blackhawks skates against the Minnesota Wild during the second period at the United Center on November 10, 2024 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

Connor Bedard, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos

Stamkos is off to a disappointing start in Nashville, but I have a hard time imagining him not being a part of this roster.

The 34-year-old is too big of a name, has had too good of a career, and is too big of a draw to not be here. It would also be a great chance to reunite him with one of his former teammates in Tampa Bay, Brayden Point.

Point is one of the players already named to the roster, and he is off to a strong start, averaging more than a point per game through Monday.

Bedard's production is probably not where Chicago would have hoped it would be so far this season, especially his goal-scoring, but he is still an emerging superstar and you have to imagine Hockey Canada will want to get him some international experience to help get him ready for the 2026 Olympics.

Like Stamkos, I just cannot envision a scenario in which he gets left off this roster. He is one of the league's rising young superstars. He will be here.

First-Pairing Defense

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DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 30: Cale Makar #8 of the Colorado Avalanche skates in warm-up ahead of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Ball Arena on October 30, 2024 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Ashley Potts/NHLI via Getty Images)

Cale Makar and Devon Toews

When you are building one of these best-on-best international teams, you can never quite be sure what sort of chemistry players will have together. So, when you have an opportunity to stick with names you know are good together, you should try to do it.

Canada has that option on its top defense pair with Colorado Avalanche teammates Makar and Toews.

Since the start of the 2022-23 season the duo has played 1,933 minutes of 5-on-5 ice-time together and has not only been one of the best defensive pairings in the league but also dominated.

In those minutes, the pairing has a 55.8 percent expected goals share and outscored opponents by a 102-76 margin.

Makar is not only one of the top overall defensemen in the NHL, but he is also one of the best players regardless of position.

Toews, with his two-way play and ability to feed the transition game, is a perfect complement whether they are playing in the NHL or in an international tournament.

Second-Pairing Defense

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EDMONTON, CANADA - OCTOBER 22: Evan Bouchard #2 of the Edmonton Oilers in action during the game against the Carolina Hurricanes at Rogers Place on October 22, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Andy Devlin/NHLI via Getty Images)

Evan Bouchard and Dougie Hamilton

Another defense pairing that remains unchanged from our previous projection, even though both players are off to relatively slow starts. At least based on the expectations and standards both players have set for themselves over the years.

Hamilton has just one goal and 12 assists in his first 18 games, while Bouchard has seven points in 15 games.

That doesn't change my opinion of them or their potential placement on this roster. In this instance, I am trusting the talent to eventually bounce back and justify their placement here.

Bouchard is simply too good to not score more, and Hamilton has consistently been one of the best—and most underappreciated—all-around defensemen in the league during his career. At least he has been when healthy, which he seems to be this season.

Third-Pairing Defense

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TORONTO, CANADA - OCTOBER 31: Morgan Rielly #44 of the Toronto Maple Leafs skates away with the puck against Jared McCann #19 of the Seattle Kraken during the Third period in an NHL game at Scotiabank Arena on October 31, 2024 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Maple Leafs defeated the Kraken 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)

Josh Morrissey and Morgan Rielly

We had New York Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson on this pairing in October, and while I would still anticipate him making the roster, he might find himself as an extra instead of a regular in the lineup due to his dreadful start to the season offensively.

Rielly takes his spot here.

Morrissey is another key contributor to Winnipeg's incredible start and has been one of the most productive defensemen in the NHL over the past few years and is averaging more than a point-per-game this season for the Jets.

The 29-year-old has been in the top seven of the league's Norris Trophy voting in each of the past two seasons and is playing his way toward another top-10 finish this season.

Goalies

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WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 15: Logan Thompson #48 of the Washington Capitals stands in front of the net during the first period of a game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Capital One Arena on October 15, 2024 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Jess Rapfogel/NHLI via Getty Images)

Logan Thompson, Adin Hill and Sam Montembeault

Goaltending remains the biggest potential Achilles heel for this team, and it could be a problem.

Perhaps the rest of the roster is good enough to make it so the goalie does not matter. Maybe they score enough goals and insulate them enough defensively that they can overcome the occasional bad goal or subpar save percentage.

Or perhaps the unsettled goalie situation ruins the chances of a potential championship team.

Over the past year, we have pondered everybody from Tristan Jarry to Stuart Skinner to Cam Talbot to Jordan Binnington for this roster, and we have another prospective change this month with Washington Capitals goalie Logan Thompson making our projection.

The 27-year-old has been outstanding this season, owning a .910 save percentage in his debut season with the team. When healthy, he has consistently been at least a league average goalie at worst. He might be the favorite to start for this team right now.

Hill has not had a great start this season in Vegas, but his previous two years have been very good and he has championship experience after leading the Golden Knights to a Stanley Cup triumph during the 2022-23 season.

Montembault is kind of a wild card because he has played reasonably well the past couple of years behind some awful Canadiens defenses. It might be a reach for him to be on this roster, but there aren't a lot of great alternatives at this position.