Welcome back to another edition of our FlamesNation Four Nations Face-off lineup previews. With Team Sweden and Team Finland already covered, we’re diving into the North American teams with this article focusing on Team Canada.

The rosters for this long-time-coming, best-on-best international competition, which will take place from February 12 to 20, will be announced on Dec. 2. And just as with every other international tournament, it’s hard to argue against Canada being the favourites.

The first six players to be announced to the Canada roster were as follows:

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

As far as the rest of the roster goes, here’s what we think it could look like, divided by position.

Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins
Nathan MacKinnon, Colorado Avalanche
Connor McDavid, Edmonton Oilers
Brad Marchand, Boston Bruins
Brayden Point, Tampa Bay Lightning
Mitch Marner, Toronto Maple Leafs
Sam Reinhart, Florida Panthers
Mark Scheifele, Winnipeg Jets
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights
Brandon Hagel, Tampa Bay Lightning
Travis Konecny, Philadelphia Flyers
Connor Bedard, Chicago Blackhawks
Matt Duchene, Dallas Stars

Honourable mentions: John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs; Dylan Strome, Washington Capitals; Nick Suzuki, Montreal Canadiens; Mathew Barzal, New York Islanders; Anthony Cirelli, Tampa Bay Lightning; Alexis Lafreniere, New York Rangers

This forward group, in a word, is loaded. Outside of the five forwards already selected for the team, there are plenty of options for head coach Jon Cooper, both young and old, to go with. And the worst part is that great players will be left off the roster altogether.

One of the biggest questions about the forwards projected to make the roster is around Mark Stone, who has been down with an injury since early November after he was initially announced as “day-to-day.”

With the tournament in February, Stone could be healthy by the time it rolls around. Selecting him for the roster and hoping that the Knights captain’s timeline doesn’t get worse or change could be playing a dangerous game. Injured players can be dropped from the roster until February 12, so it wouldn’t be shocking to see Stone picked up as a member of the initial roster and moving from there. When he is playing and healthy, he’s one of the best players in the NHL, scoring 21 points in 13 games before going down with the injury this year.

If Stone were not to be selected, any of the players in the honourable mentions category could be great alternative options, as they all have produced well for their respective teams.

Another point of contention in this discourse is the inclusion of Connor Bedard. The young superstar has hit a sophomore slump with his struggling Blackhawks team, having scored only four goals and tallied 13 assists for 17 points in 23 games. However, last season, he made waves in the media, dubbed as the NHL’s next generational talent, and on the ice in his Calder Trophy-winning season, where he finished with over 20 goals and 61 points in 68 games.

There’s no doubt that Bedard’s point total isn’t where he would like it to be, but considering the performances he puts on when he is wearing a Team Canada jersey, as evidenced by his World Junior performances, and the kind of hype it would bring to see Bedard play on the same team as McDavid and Crosby, it’s hard to leave him out of the roster.

Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Devon Toews, Colorado Avalanche
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets
Alex Pietrangelo, Vegas Golden Knights
Evan Bouchard, Edmonton Oilers
Noah Dobson, New York Islanders
Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights

Honorable mentions: Dougie Hamilton, New Jersey Devils; Drew Doughty, Los Angeles Kings

Defence is another position in which Team Canada is full of talent and, more importantly, players with multiple kinds of skills. Devon Toews and Cale Makar are the Colorado Avalanche’s number one pair, providing head coach Jared Bednar with an impressive one-two punch on the backend—one that propelled them to a Stanley Cup win in 2022.

Josh Morrisey and Alex Pietrangelo are another two defenders who are opposite hands, play compatible styles, and have had strong seasons through the early part of 2024-25. Pietrangelo is a two-time Stanley Cup winner and could provide an intense veteran presence amongst a group of relatively young defencemen, while Morrissey would continue the offensive punch he brings to the Jets blue line. He finished seventh in Norris Trophy voting last season after scoring 69 points in 81 games and is currently sitting with 22 points in 24 games.

The final three defenders are all interesting cases, as they each are more geared toward generating offence in one way or another. Evan Bouchard and Noah Dobson are both righties, so having Shea Theodore — another Stanley Cup winner — offset them as a lefty for the third pair would likely be what we see regarding pair choices. However, who ends up being on that third pair is the choice that the coaching staff will have to make.

Whether or not the coaching staff and management select Drew Doughty, a veteran with a winning pedigree and a staple of Team Canada over the years, instead of the two righties, could also be a choice to watch out for when the rosters are released. He has the charisma every NHL hockey fan knows and loves (maybe Flames fans are the exception), and he also has international experience, making him potentially an even more valuable commodity.

Logan Thompson, Washington Capitals
Jordan Binnington, St. Louis Blues
*Joey Daccord, Seattle Kraken

Honourable mentions: Adin Hill, Vegas Golden Knights; Cam Talbot, Detroit Red Wings

Goaltending is the biggest question mark about this Team Canada roster, as there isn’t a defined number-one starter heading into the tournament. Logan Thompson and Jordan Binnington have been strong for their respective clubs to start the 2024-25 season. However, according to metrics like Evolving-Hockey’s goals saved above expected, Joey Daccord of the Seattle Kraken is the best goaltender this season of the potential candidates. His 9.57 GSAx is fifth-best in the entire NHL in 2024-25, and his .916 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average prove that’s no fluke number.

However, there has been an issue with Daccord’s eligibility because, while he is technically a citizen of Canada and was born in the United States to a Canadian father and a Swiss mother, he does not own a Canadian passport. Therefore, he’s not eligible to be placed on the roster in the initial stages according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. However, in the same vein as the Stone situation, injured players can be replaced up until Feb. 12 (the opening day of the tournament), giving Daccord time to work with Team Canada’s brass and figure out a course of action.

NHL fans have been waiting for best-on-best hockey to return, and Team Canada should give everyone their money’s worth. While there are questions about the goaltending and how the entire Daccord situation will work out, both the forwards and defense can outscore any issues they might have in the blue paint. There is an incredible amount of talent up and down any predicted roster, and the one that comes out on Dec. 2. Now, we sit and wait.