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2 Flames defencemen appear on Daily Faceoff’s projected 4 Nations Face-Off rosters
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Photo credit: © Stephen Brashear-USA TODAY Sports
Ryan Pike
Nov 2, 2024, 12:00 EDTUpdated: Nov 2, 2024, 00:49 EDT
In one month, on Dec. 2, we’ll know which players will be representing their nations as part of the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off over the February break in the National Hockey League schedule. Between now and then, though, players will be trying to make a good impression on national team brass.
Over at Daily Faceoff, a few of our pals put together an early projection for Canada, the United States, Sweden and Finland’s rosters for the big tournament.
A pair of Calgary Flames players, MacKenzie Weegar (Canada) and Rasmus Andersson (Sweden), were listed on their national team’s respective rosters.

Canada

Matt Larkin put together Canada’s roster.
Here’s what he wrote regarding including Weegar as Canada’s seventh defender: “If Canada needs a bit more snarl, I love Weegar as the No. 7 because he can play the left or right side. That’s why I chose him over some flashier options.”
The 30-year-old Weegar represented Canada East at 2011’s World Junior A Challenge, but didn’t don the maple leaf again until the 2023 World Championships, where he helped Canada capture a gold medal. He joins Cale Makar, Devon Toews, Noah Dobson, Evan Bouchard, Shea Theodore and Alex Pietrangelo on Larkin’s projected Canadian blueline.

Sweden

Uffe Bodin mocked up Sweden’s roster.
Regarding Rasmus Andersson, here’s what he wrote: “It’s pretty crazy that Andersson hasn’t donned a Tre Kronor jersey since his junior days, considering how good he has been for the Flames for the past several years. So it’s about time he gets a shot at representing the national team. The way he has started the season certainly underlines that.”
Andersson hasn’t played for his country since he was a teenager; he represented them at the 2013 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and the 2013 and 2014 Under-18 Worlds, but he hasn’t had the opportunity to play internationally for Sweden since then. He slots in on a projected Swedish blueline that includes Victor Hedman, Erik Karlsson, Rasmus Dahlin, Gustav Forsling, Mattias Ekholm and Hampus Lindholm.
Bodin also noted that excluding Flames captain Mikael Backlund was a tough decision: “With Landeskog’s future uncertain, Backlund’s exclusion stings the most. At 35, the Calgary Flames captain remains a valuable two-way center who could benefit any team in the league. But with younger, exciting options, competition is fierce.”
We’ll see how many Flames end up locked into roster spots for their national teams when rosters are revealed in early December.