When final rosters were announced recently for the NHL’s Four Nations Faceoff, only one Calgary Flames player was named. Swedish defender Rasmus Andersson made his nation’s team after a great start to his Flames season.
Fans of nearly every NHL team felt many potential options were left out. Others wonder why only four countries were selected in the first place.
The world climate had an impact on Russia but, just for fun, let’s imagine a few more invites were sent — adding Russia, Czechia, Belarus, and Slovakia.
Plenty of people have thrown together hypothetical Team Russia rosters, and they could have been a force at forward. Even with many talented wingers, Andrei Kuzmenko might have been a good fit. Despite his rough season so far, he has been a deadly sniper before, and could add some scoring power to team Russia.
Another team Russia option might have been Daniil Miromanov. While he hasn’t shown his full potential so far, especially offensively, there aren’t many current Russian defenders that play on the right side, which helps his case.
Related: Flames D-Man’s New Staredown: The 4-Nations Face-off
The next few countries wouldn’t be able to field a full roster of competitive NHL players, which is obviously why they were excluded from the NHL/NHLPA showcase. Still, there are a few more Flames players that could have made their nation’s teams.
Martin Pospisil was great at center for Slovakia in the World Championships, and, who knows, maybe he would have had a shot on a line with Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky.
For Team Belarus winger Yegor Sharangovich would be a strong goal-scorer for his team. He’s another Fames player having a slow year but there’s still a lot of talent there.
Team Czechia has a few options in net, but outside of his horrific recent outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dan Vladar has had a good season and name could be on the list of three goaltenders. Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks helped lead his nation to a gold medal at the World Championships, so he would likely start. Vladar would have been a consideration at backup alongside Karel Vejmelka of the Utah Hockey Club.
The 4 Nations Faceoff has should be a fun tournament, and is the first best-on-best hockey action we’ve had in a while.
It’s a precursor to the 2026 Winter Olympics, where more teams will become a reality.
