Although Pittsburgh Penguins coach Mike Sullivan will be calling the shots for Team USA, New Jersey Devils star Jack Hughes has has thoughts about his dream linemate.
On Thursday, the 23-year-old said he'd "love" to play alongside Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Mathews at the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off, which is Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston.
"I'd love to play with Matthews. Seeing him and (Mitch) Marner do their thing, and it'd be fun to play with a guy that has scored 70 goals in the NHL," Hughes said. "Even if it's a few games, I'm definitely looking forward to the possibility of that."
The final rosters for the tournament were unveiled on Wednesday, setting up USA, Canada, Sweden and Finland battling it out at Centre Bell and TD Garden. In addition to Matthews and Hughes, USA's superstar roster features Matthew Tkachuk of the Florida Panthers and Jack Eichel of the Vegas Golden Knights.
The red, white and blue will also be a family affair, as Hughes' brother Quinn, a Vancouver Canucks blueliner, and Tkachuk's brother Brady, an Ottawa Senators winger, were selected for action.
The United States kicks off its tournament against Finland on Feb. 13, followed by a showdown with Canada on Feb. 15 and a battle with Sweden on Feb. 17. The two teams with the highest points from round-robin will play in the championship game on Feb. 20.
The 4 Nations Face-Off rosters are made up of 23 players on an NHL roster as of Dec. 2.
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