The National Hockey League (NHL) had a Four Nations tournament just over a month ago and it was one of the best and most entertaining tournaments the world has ever seen. The tournament consisted of four nations including Canada, United States, Finland, and Sweden. Each team is loaded with NHL talent and each player competing is a top 25 player in their respective countries.
The last time the NHL did something similar to this was in 2002, but in my opinion this was the most entertaining and exciting sporting event I’ve ever seen. Players all over the world were invited to try out for their countries regardless of age or team. Each team takes around 13 forwards, 8 defensemen, and 3 goalies for a total of around 25 players per team. Even if you make the team, you still have to battle for playing time as every play you make will impact the amount of time you get during the games.
Going into the tournament, USA and Canada were the favorites as both of these teams were loaded from top to bottom. Everybody played each other at least one time in a round robin style tournament. Every team had at least one win through round robin, as Finland and Sweden went 1-2 while USA and Canada went 2-1.
When Canada and the USA played each other in round robin, it was a great game. This rivalry has been going on for years and this game was no different as there were three fights the first 10 seconds into the game. This really set the tone and intensity for the game as everybody knew it was going to be a hard fought physical game. USA ended up winning this game in a very close 3-1 game but this didn’t matter as the two teams would get a rematch only a few days later for the championship.
On February 20, the two teams faced off for all the marbles. The game started off with a Canada goal as one of the best players in the world, Nathan Mackninon found the back of the net. Though, soon later Brady Tkachuk and Jake Sanderson netted two that put the U.S. up 2-1 in the second period. Later in the period, Sam Bennet put one in that tied the game at 2 heading into the third period. Although each team had many chances, the game stayed scoreless and headed to overtime. The overtime was back and forth as each team had high danger chances until the undisputed best player in the world ended it. Connor Mcdavid was left wide open in front of the net and won Team Canada the Four Nations Tournament.
Although the tournament was very competitive and intense, the players all had one goal in mind and that was to grow the sport of hockey and entertain people around the world. After the goal Connor Mcdavid scored he humbly told ESPN, “It’s a great game. It’s a great sport. And I hope we put on a good show these last couple days and gain some fans.” This shows how even the best player in the world cares more about the sport than himself and this is why the Four Nations Face Off Challenge is one of the best tournaments I’ve ever seen.