by When the final rosters for the NHL’s Four Nations Faceoff were recently announced, only one Calgary Flames player was named. Swedish defenseman Rasmus Andersson was named to the national team after a great start to his Flames season.
Fans of almost every NHL team felt that many potential options were left out. Others wonder why only four countries were selected.
The global climate had an impact on Russia, but for fun, let’s imagine that a few more invitations were sent out – including Russia, the Czech Republic, Belarus and Slovakia.
Many people have put together hypothetical squads for Team Russia, and they could have been a strong force at forward. Despite the many talented wingers, Andrei Kuzmenko might have been a good fit. Despite his difficult season so far, he has been a deadly sniper before and could give the Russian team some scoring opportunities.
Another option for the Russian team would have been Daniil Miromanov. While he hasn’t shown his full potential yet, especially on offense, there aren’t many Russian defenders playing on the right side at the moment, which helps his cause.
See also: Flames D-Man’s new staredown: The 4-nation duel
The next few countries wouldn’t be able to field a full roster of competitive NHL players, which is obviously why they were left out of the NHL/NHLPA show. Still, there are a few other Flames players who could have made the national team.
Martin Pospisil was a great center for Slovakia at the World Cup, and who knows, maybe he would have had a chance on the line with Montreal Canadiens winger Juraj Slafkovsky.
For Team Belarus, winger Yegor Sharangovich would be a strong scorer for his team. He’s another Fames player coming off a down year, but there’s still plenty of talent.
The Czech team has a few options in net, but aside from his terrible recent performance against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Dan Vladar has had a good season and his name could be on the list of three goalies. Lukas Dostal of the Anaheim Ducks helped lead his country to a gold medal at the World Cup, so he would likely start. Vladar would have been considered as a backup player alongside Utah Hockey Club’s Karel Vejmelka.
The 4 Nations Faceoff should be an entertaining tournament and is the first best-on-best hockey action in a long time.
It is a precursor to the 2026 Winter Olympics, where more teams will become a reality.
