USA vs Canada At The 4-Nations Faceoff Is Setting Up To Be An All-Time Gongshow
KIRILL KUDRYAVTSEV. Getty Images.We're now less than 10 days away from the 2025 4-Nations Faceoff. It's the closest thing we're getting to best-on-best international ice hockey since the 2016 World Cup. Even that had some flaws and wasn't perfect, but we haven't had a perfect international hockey tournament since the 2014 Olympics in Sochi.
To be perfectly honest, there hasn't been a ton of hype heading into the 4-Nations Faceoff next week. Primarily due to the fact that there are, as the name would suggest, only 4 countries competing in it. USA, Canada, Sweden, and Finland. You'll notice that there is No Russia, no Czech Republic, no Slovakia. Not even putting the country back together again for a Team Czechoslovakia. It's hard to consider this as an actual international when half of the best teams in the world aren't involved.
But while the tournament itself might not have as much giddy up to it as you'd hope for an international tournament, USA vs Canada next Saturday is going to be worth it on its own.
So obviously there's a bit of...political tension between the United States and Canada right now. So much so that the typically kind-hearted and gentle-souled Canadian people are booing the Star Spangled Banner before games. We even have broadcasters working tariff jokes into the broadcasts in Canada.
Now sports are usually a great way to get away from politics. To put all the issues of the world aside and just enjoy a game for a couple of hours. But to be perfectly honest, a little political animosity always makes international hockey a little bit spicier. It's half the reason why the Miracle on Ice was so special. When you give fans the ability to treat the game as something more than just a hockey game, it makes them that much more passionate about the outcome. And when they're that passionate about the game, that's when the energy in the building really starts to ramp up. And from there, it's only human nature for the players feed off that energy.
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Sometimes that energy is positive. And you'll notice the speed and skill in the game start to dial up. But sometimes that energy is chaotic, and maybe even a little on the side of malicious. And I think that's what we're going to see on display in the Bell Centre next Saturday. If the Canadian fans in the building boo the Star Spangled Banner, then that sets the tone for the game right then and there. The energy of the crowd will have a huge role in determining the energy on the ice. And if that's the environment that Team USA is in for, then this game could go off the rails real quick. We're talking 1996 World Cup levels of chaos.
Auston Matthews, American, captain of a Canadian team. Brady Tkachuk, American, captain of a Canadian team. Quinn Hughes, American, captain of a Canadian team. I know these guys don't actually give a shit about the politics involved. I know these guys all have an NHL season to focus on once this "tournament" wraps up. But all I'm saying is that there's a real chance the energy in the Bell Centre could cause the emotions in this game to go completely haywire. Especially if it ends up being USA vs Canada again in the final game.