Confrontation of the 4 Nations | Canada reveals names of first six players

(Calgary) Canada’s team that will participate in the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Showdown will bring together the most valuable player to his team in the National Hockey League in 2023-24 and the winner of the similar honour during the playoffs.

The selections of center Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche and captain of the Edmonton Oilers Connor McDavid were announced Friday by Hockey Canada officials.

They will be joined by forwards Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh Penguins), Brad Marchand (Boston Bruins) and Brayden Point (Tampa Bay Lightning) as well as defenseman Cale Makar, a teammate of MacKinnon with the Avalanche.

MacKinnon won the Hart Trophy for the first time in his career on Thursday, following a campaign in which he totaled 140 points, including 51 goals. McDavid, who was a finalist for the Hart Trophy, earned the Conn Smythe Trophy with 42 points, including eight goals, in 25 games.

As for Crosby, he will try to enhance his impressive record on the international scene, which includes two gold medals at the Olympic Games. He scored the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against the United States at the 2010 Vancouver Games.

The United States team will also include forwards Auston Matthews (Toronto Maple Leafs), Matthew Tkachuk (Florida Panthers) and Jack Eichel (Vegas Golden Knights) as well as defensemen Quinn Hughes (Vancouver Canucks), Adam Fox (New York Rangers) and Charlie McAvoy (Boston Bruins).

Sweden and Finland too

Two other Panthers players, two each from the Nashville Predators and the same number from the Dallas Stars are among the first groups of six players to be named to Sweden and Finland’s teams ahead of the tournament.

The Panthers, who won their first Stanley Cup in history last Monday, will be represented by their captain Aleksander Barkov, who will play for Finland, and by defenseman Gustav Forsling, who will play for Sweden.

The two Predators players selected Friday are forward Filip Forsberg (Sweden) and goalie Juuse Saros (Finland). Finally, Stars defenders Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell will line up with Finland.

Forwards Sebastian Aho of the Carolina Hurricanes and Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche complete the Finnish team’s first group of six players.

In addition to Forsling and Forsberg, Sweden will be able to count on defensemen Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning) and Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins) as well as forwards William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs) and Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers).

The four countries’ rosters, which will feature 23 players, including three goalkeepers, will be completed later this year.

This competition will run from February 12 to 20 with matches presented at the Bell Center and TD Garden in Boston.