Canada, U.S., Finland and Sweden announce first players for 4 Nations Face-Off

The inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off is inching closer and closer and on Friday the four teams competing announced their first six players for the tournament.

Team Canada's roster will see Connor McDavid and Sidney Crosby team up on the international stage. They will be joined by Avalanche teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, as well as Bruins captain Brad Marchand and Lightning star Brayden Point.

Canada is led by head coach Jon Cooper and general manager Doug Armstrong.

The United States team features a pair of Norris Trophy winners and last season's leading goal scorer. The U.S. will be led by Auston Matthews, Matthew Tkachuk and Jack Eichel up front while Quinn Hughes, Adam Fox and Charlie McAvoy will anchor the blue line.

Finland was the only country to name a goalie to their roster, selecting Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators. Finland also features a pair of defencemen from Dallas, Miro Heiskenen and Esa Lindell, as well as a talented trio of forwards in Aleksander Barkov, Mikko Rantanen and Sebastian Aho.

Sweden, like the U.S., selected three defencemen as part of their first six: Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson and Gustav Forsling. Also representing Sweden are scoring forwards Filip Forsberg, Mika Zibanejad and William Nylander.

The seven-game international tournament involving Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States is set to take place from Feb. 12-20, 2025, at the Bell Centre in Montreal and TD Garden in Boston.

Here is a look at the first six players taking to the ice for each team in February's tournament:

First Six for Canada

F Connor McDavid (Edmonton Oilers)
F Nathan MacKinnon (Colorado Avalanche)
F Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins)
F Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins)
F Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning)
D Cale Makar (Colorado Avalanche)

First Six for the United States

F Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs)
F Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers)
F Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights)
D Adam Fox (New York Rangers)
D Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks)
D Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins)

First Six for Finland

G Juuse Saros (Nashville Predators)
D Esa Lindell (Dallas Stars)
D Miro Heiskanen (Dallas Stars)
F Aleksander Barkov (Florida Panthers)
F Mikko Rantanen (Colorado Avalanche)
F Sebastian Aho (Carolina Hurricanes)

First Six for Sweden

D Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)
D Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins)
D Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers)
F Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators)
F Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers)
F William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs)